Stray
by DemiHuman123
Summary: Bramble Forest is not marked on most maps, and it's not an officially recognized point of interest by the Pokemon League Association or the Fiore Ranger Union, but something in it always attracted researchers from all around. Perhaps there's something else there outside of the bug types and the sudden appearance of a Rowlet family. M!Ranger x M!Decidueye. Updates bi-weekly.
1. Full Heal

**Stray  
by DemiHuman123  
**

 **Chapter One**  
 **Full Heal**

* * *

How do I start this?

The forest both soothes and frightens me. I can't briefly explain why that is, but I should probably start by saying that my entire life has revolved around this one specific forest.

When I was young – maybe two or three, I can't remember – my family moved us from Sinnoh to a jurisdiction just outside of Fiore, west of Lyra Forest to be more specific, but not actually a part of it. The area was sanctioned off.

Bramble Forest belonged to no specific region, technically. However, it was often watched by the Pokemon League Association (PLA) of Sinnoh and the Fiore Ranger Union (FRU), due to its population of bug typed Pokemon which contributed to its generally strange atmosphere that researchers seemed to gravitate to. This was exactly the reason my parents moved us all there.

I didn't remember any time in Floaroma before the move, but my sister keeps telling me that my mother had to keep me inside since they thought I had a reaction to the flowers. For as long as I can remember, I've never had any sort of allergy to any fauna, so when she told me I just took her word for it.

My mother was a semi-popular trainer in her youth in Sinnoh. She didn't stand out for her beauty or personality, according to her, but for her gimmick. She was one of the few trainers to train nothing but shiny Pokemon. Though she never made it to the League (only achieving about six badges), she gained the attention of the media and became a minor symbol for shiny hunters. This is what attracted my father to her.

He's a researcher, and at the time, was fresh out of the academy, which meant he had no money and no particularly interesting research that others hadn't talked about already in better detail. Somehow though, he was able to get an interview with my mother, and was able to secure a two week period to study her Pokemon. After a few days, he ended up finding her more interesting.

They hit it off right away. When she announced her engagement to him, her career hit the pavement. Apparently, girls in the limelight were more popular when they were single, even though she claimed she wasn't famous because of her looks. In any case, she didn't care. Probably due to the royalties she was receiving from the various endorsements and connections she had with the Sinnoh branch of the PLA.

After they married, they moved to Floaroma. My mother continued to stay in contact with the PLA as a means to secure some income: talk shows, lectures, motivational speaking, as well as the occasion exhibition match. My father continued research on shiny Pokemon for the good part of four years before hitting a brick wall. Turns out, you can't research something you have trouble finding. I guess my mother was just lucky to find so many of them for her team.

Somewhere in their marriage, they had my sister, Sky, and then a good seven years later, they had me – Clay. I wasn't expected, so obviously, I was labeled as the "surprise." At some point after that is when we moved away from Sinnoh.

There are no towns of any sort in Bramble Forest. There are research hubs, which act as homes for Pokemon researchers and what few rank 10 rangers had been stationed there, as well as two depot stations on opposite ends of the woods, one owned by the PLA and the other by the FRU. The PLA was there so researchers could alert them of any unusual and dangerous activities the Pokemon might be eliciting, and the FRU was there to make sure no trainers were capturing the wild life.

While Sinnoh (nor Fiore) took responsibility for Bramble Forest, it was agreed upon to keep the location a "no-capture zone" until researcher and ranger findings could conclude it a safe haven for general exploration. At the time of my family's move, the PLA considered it a grade 4 – hazardous, but not _completely_ life threatening.

From the official statement: _"An area that is deemed unsafe for trainer or ranger alike. Only authorized personnel sanctioned by the Pokemon League Association or regional Ranger Union may enter for a prolonged period of time. Thank you for your cooperation."_

I'll save you the trouble: yes, it's going to hit a grade 5 at some point in this story, but we'll get to that eventually.

Our home was on the west end of the forest, as close to the beach as we could make it. My parents wanted Sky and I to enjoy our time there, so having a beach only about a half-hour walk away, as well as being close to the FRU depot station (which would act as our supply shop going forward), and plenty of beaten paths that made it easier to explore the forest and not get lost, made our "cramped" life a bit easier to manage.

It's not like that mattered. Our home was a very large self-sustaining cabin: two stories, three bedrooms, a closet library, a small office, a decently sized kitchen, as well as a very large living room with a glass screen door, that looked out onto two small houses in the back that could be used for any number of things. My father turned one of them into a research facility, and my mother turned the other into a communications building of sorts.

The thick wood of the forest made outside lines difficult with standard methods, but my mother and all her connections with the Sinnoh PLA was able to procure some radio equipment before coming here, assuring us internet and access to the PLA servers, as well as full signal waves for Pokegears. She also made sure to secure us a generator in the case of emergencies.

Schooling was handled by a kindly old woman at another hub about a mile south of us. My father took Sky and I there every day during out younger days, and it's where we learned our basic education. I don't miss those days. Mrs. Cinch was just a krabby kind of woman.

For the first while of my life there, that was it. I woke up, said bye to my mother, walked to school with my sister and father, where I'd play with some of the two or three other kids who were there to learn, and then I'd come home when my mother came to get us. I don't remember much of it since I was so young.

I do remember somewhat the event that set this whole thing off. It was a peculiar one, and though it seems hazy, I recall most of it.

I was five at the time, and Sky and I had the day off from school. My mother said they went out for a walk, while I stayed on the porch, with her inside, keeping me in eye view while chatting with some PLA rep about who knows what.

There was a commotion of some sort. Didn't know what. I remember my mother rushing out of her office, dropping her Pokegear, as my sister ran crying from the forest. Mom was almost hysterical, darting into the forest after making sure my sister was okay. I think Sky hugged me, but I'm not sure. My dad came back all bruised and scratched up. We had to bring a nurse from the FRU station to check on him.

I remember my father talking with the nurse, as well as a representative of the Fiore Ranger Union. He was scribbling something on a sheet of paper. When I was older, my mother filled in the blanks.

He ended up being fine, but spoke of some sort of family of birds he hadn't seen before. He was handed a sheet of paper where he and Sky did their best to try and remember what they looked like. When the drawing was done, the FRU rep took it, and came back a few days later with their findings.

Suddenly, my father was brimming with excitement, and both the PLA and FRU were knocking on his door for the same reason.

Alolan Pokemon, as it turned out. The Rowlet family to be precise. There was a whole family of them living in the Bramble Forest – about 12 of them, all siblings, no parents to be found.

This was big. Alola's Pokemon themselves were still under certain research to see if they were viable as trainer Pokemon. The PLA and Alolan officials had been in talks for years over having them recognized as an official part of the league. However, with the issues of Team Rocket in Johto a few months earlier, the PLA had become more strict in their investigations of new regions. Unova was only then on a test basis at the time.

This was a big deal when I was younger, with a lot of politicians for and against the Alola region's inclusion, mostly stemming on the usual political elements: economy, Pokemon species, race, tourism factors, etc. etc. Of course, as we all know, Alola would eventually be recognized. I just had no idea at the time how much of a big deal those discussions were.

The Rowlet family of Pokemon were only found in Alola, and with the political climate the way it was, it was nearly impossible for any researcher of any kind to get any sort of data on the species outside of Alola itself. Factor in that the Rowlet family rarely travels cross-region, if ever.

Because of this, my mother was constantly on the phone with the PLA, while my father hammered out a deal with Fiore and the Ranger Union. Both the PLA and FRU came to an agreement: my father and mother were to study the Rowlet family and report any findings back to both the PLA and FRU. This was meant to be kept a secret from Alolan officials for the time being, out of fear they might collect the birds or something.

I've always noticed that the PLA always overreacts to minor situations, and underreacts to the major ones. I constantly have to wonder what the Elite Four of some of these regions are doing as their lands are getting ransacked by terrorists.

With research subjects secured, we were given more supplies, more equipment, and staffing. My father was given two additional assistants, as well as a ranger as a means to capture the family for research purposes before releasing them back out into the wild. This never happened as he got pretty badly wounded by the family's patriarch about a month in and had to be rushed to an ER.

My mother was given a veteran as a means to help keep things under control, in the case the Rowlet family became hostile to humans. He apparently didn't do a very good job if the ranger my father was provided had to go to an ER.

These attacks were more often than not, as many of the researchers, as well as the veteran himself, came back with a few scratches just about every other day. Eventually, they had to get a nurse to join the team, brought in from Fiore proper, to take care of them. Luckily, shanty towns were made around the cabin, and my family was more than accommodating to allow them to use the building as they saw fit.

My sister was thirteen around that time, and couldn't be schooled anymore. Instead, she stayed at home while I continued going. When I came home, I'd find her talking with the assistants, latching herself to one of the younger women in particular. Then, one day after school, I found her with a Pokemon egg that the assistant had gifted her. Eventually, it would hatch, and then she'd be given another egg. And then another one. A few months passed, and it was decided to send Sky away to a boarding academy.

She had picked up a knack for Pokemon breeding, and my parents thought it might be a good idea to send her someplace to specialize in that. Sky was excited about it. I was a little sad to see my sister go, but she was going to visit holidays and on her breaks.

As for me, outside of school, I spent my time trying to spy on my father's research. My first real taste of that was finding out just how sharp a Ratatta's teeth really are. I still have the scar to show off to others, I leave out the part about how I cried for a good hour afterwards. Mom thought it was funny because Ratattas were rare in that forest, and wondered what I did to find one.

Dad would show me lots of photos of the Rowlet family though. They looked so strange and different. I had never seen bird types like that on TV or on the internet. Some of them had funny shaped feathers, and there was even a great big one too.

It was weird. No matter the season, the Rowlet family always stuck around. It was very bizarre to see a bird species stay in one area, even during the cold winter months. They were around a long time.

On my eighth birthday, after begging to be brought along for who knows how long, I finally got to see them.

My father kept me home from school that day, grabbing me tight by the hand and leading me into the forest, away from the beaten path. His assistants and the veteran trainer moved ahead of us. My mother even came, staying close to me and my father, with her shiny Dragonite out and ready.

"There they are!" my father whispered in an excited tone.

I had trouble seeing them at first; the forest's trees reached so high and mighty. But eventually I saw them – a group of eleven, sitting up, some of them sleeping up, but they were there.

"The bigger ones are called Dartrix," my father explained to me.

They loomed over the smaller ones, acting like bigger brothers and sisters to them. Their faces looked almost happy, but father and mother assured me that most of the attacks came from them, not from the patriarch. I didn't know what that word meant until I saw something rustle in the leaves at the base of the tree.

A pair of eyes, staring at me – or were they staring at my mother and father? In any case, it crept its way out, showing itself as some sort of bird in a cloak. I didn't understand it. It was bigger than me, and it looked ready to pounce.

Everyone cleared the way when it came out in the open. It stepped around, checking for anything amiss, eventually coming to me and my parents. It was curious. What was this tiny thing they brought today? It looked at me. Got as close as it possibly could. But not close enough…

My mother's Dragonite was ready to attack if things got hairy. I always considered him like a weirdly colored Pokemon uncle to me. It was obvious from it and the bird's face that they had had it in before.

Once the large bird had its fill of me, it cawed to its family. Some of the Rowlet fluttered down, with all the Dartrix with them. Only a few stayed in the trees, sleeping soundly.

"Decidueye," was what my father called it. This was the "patriarch" he was referring to.

It was strange. Everyone was very careful around it, almost scared. But to me, it reminded me of my super heroes I'd see in comics. I thought it looked really cool.

I wasn't allowed up close to any of them. The Dartrix were very protective of their siblings, and the Decidueye was keen on putting any one of us down if it felt we were threatening the family – excuse me, parliament, as the correct PLA term is now. And while this parliament of grass and flying type birds was an astonishment to the researchers, it was the Decidueye itself that puzzled them.

More time seemed to be on watching it then the younger evolutions. It was the only one of the siblings that didn't have a tag around it's leg. The Rowlet and Dartrix all had snazzy little tags with a number on them, but not the Decidueye. If I had to guess, I don't think it was a lack of trying on my parents and their team's end.

I asked many questions. Some to the point of probably annoying my parents. But just as I had run out of questions to ask, a rustling up in the branches occurred.

Another Rowlet, stirred from it's rest, fluttered down from the branches. Maybe not fluttered. Actually, it may have been floundering, now that I think about it.

"Heads up!" yelled one of the researchers. "Number seven's coming down!"

It was very sporadic, having no particular place to land. The assistants and the veteran were quick to try and follow it, so they could corral it back to the rest of the parliament. But what a birthday surprise it was when it landed right at my feet, tumbling into them even.

It stood up. Were those leaves a bowtie? I thought it was cutest thing. Great big eyes looking right at me, wings folded to its side, and talons clawed onto the ground – number seven on it's tag. As this little ball of fluff stared up at me, I kept wandering if maybe it recognized me as a child too.

The adults were trying to get it to move back toward the others, but it didn't budge. It just stayed there looking at me, and I down to it. I really wanted to pick it up, but knew my parents would kill me.

For a moment though, I looked up at the Decidueye. It only looked at number seven with a strange glimpse of annoyance. After a minute or so of the Rowlet not moving, the Decidueye came and collected it, jumping up to the branches and placing it there safely. That was where my birthday adventure ended.

I was taken home; my mother was worried something else would happen, and didn't want to jinx anything. It was enough for me though. I spent the rest of the day so excited that I got to see what no other kid in the region (outside of my sister) had seen. I kept asking lots of questions, but eventually my parents no longer had the answers, and I was sent to bed.

There are a few things that make life strange. Most of the time, it's moments that define us, and make us into who we are. The clichéd explanation, as it were. I feel like that birthday with my parents and the Rowlet pariliament would have been enough to cement some sort of goal in minds of others. But for me, it wasn't that time.

It was the night after my birthday.

Eight year old me got up to use the bathroom and get a drink of water. I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass, surprised that no one from the team was sleeping on the couch. It was rare to see everyone sleeping in their tents.

As I got a glass from the cabinet, I heard the strangest of tapping sounds at the sliding glass door in the living room. I thought my sleepy headedness was doing it to me, but it kept coming. Maybe it was a researcher. I walked over to the sliding door, and opened it without checking behind the blinds to see who it was.

I froze for a moment, not sure exactly what I was supposed to do. There was a Rowlet on the porch, looking up at me with some sort of fascination. I noticed a tag on its leg, and recognized it as number seven.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled upstairs. The lights from their bedroom flickered on. Dad came down first.

"Clay, what's the matt…?"

He froze. He saw the Rowlet on the porch, and gripped the railing on the stairs.

"Close the door," he said wide eyed, in a deathly serious tone.

I don't know why it took me so long to process his request. Maybe I was still sleepy and confused, but by the time I grabbed the door handle, the Rowlet had jumped inside the house.

I looked down at it. Dad didn't want it inside the house. I reached down and picked it up, ready to gently place it back outside.

"PUT IT DOWN!" he screamed.

It came so fast, I didn't have time to recognize it had even happened at first. The entire house shook as something rammed into it at a high speed. The glass of the sliding door crashed and cracked all over. I moved away, afraid it would shatter. It was the least of my worries though as a mass of green and brown erupted through the blinds, splintering wood everywhere. It's movements were lightening quick, rushing behind me, and then circling itself around to target it's prey. By the time I realized it was the Decidueye, it had already fired a quill right into my shoulder.

I was eight. I had no idea that there was a pain this great. It coursed through my shoulder, spreading to my body, and eventually to my head, making everything blurry. I suddenly started feeling drained.

Leach Seed. I had only known of it from TV battles, and watching my mom fight against grass specific Pokemon trainers. All I knew is that it hurt a Pokemon overtime while making the other Pokemon stronger, but I was always told that it wasn't so bad that it didn't hurt them that much. At then I knew mother had lied to protect me from the truth.

Leach Seed – and don't let anyone tell you otherwise – is indeed, painful.

For what I could perceive at the time, my mother's Dragonite roared through the house, breaking everything in its path just to try to get a hold of the Decidueye. My mother and father must have thought "to hell with the cabin" since a wild Pokemon battle was happening in our kitchen. The intent was to pin it, and let the veteran trainer take care of it.

The whole camp was up by then. Provisional Pokemon that the researchers were assigned before leaving Sinnoh were out in full force, and the veteran had all six of his out, putting all their effort into subduing the bird. My mother and father were at my side, trying to wrestle the Rowlet out of my arms, that I clutched like a security blanket. I was quickly losing lucidity of the situation.

But something was wrong. For whatever reason, all the Pokemon fighting the Decidueye looked confused and frightful as they scattered around the house. In fact, none of them seemed to escape the house. Everyone's attempts to bring them back failed for some reason. I know now what it was, but back then, everyone was confused.

Finally, there was a loud screech that erupted from my arms. The Rowlet shrieked and complained, not because it was trapped, but because it was trying to get the attention of its big brother.

The battlefield went silent, save for the small bird in my arms.

I hazily watched as the Rowlet attempted to reason with the Decidueye. Everyone's Pokemon was tired and worn. The researchers and my parents were trying to recall them to their balls, and continued having trouble doing so. And then there was the veteran, who had had enough, and was pointing a rifle at the now motionless patriarch of the Rowlet parliament.

It was obvious the veteran himself wasn't aiming for shoot to kill. All he wanted was enough to stun it. After that, a well placed hyper beam by my mother's Dragonite and the veteran's Exploud would be enough to put the creature in it's grave.

But it never happened.

I was falling out of reality about then. I just remember the Rowlet being loosed out of my grip as I went away. There were voices, and then total silence.

Full Restore is a very useful item that works on both Pokemon and human alike, although for a human the dosage is usually double or triple for any real effect to happen. As it turned out from studying the Decidueye's quill, it was a rather weak Leach Seed attached to it, meaning it used it mostly to slow down its opponents more than try to ebb at their health. Still, it was powerful enough to keep me bedridden for two days.

My parents argued almost the entire time. Me and the whole camp knew what they were talking about with how loud the screaming got.

Why did this happen?

Was it my fault or the camps?

What do they do with me now that it happened?

Should I be sent away?

None of these questions were ever answered. They just kept going in circles.

A day after the attack happened, the camp continued their research without my father. They brought back some grim news: two of the parliament had gone missing, and the Decidueye was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, two of the Rowlets had evolved into Dartrix and seemed to be preparing to flee as well.

Because of what happened, the parliament were leaving. It didn't surprise any of the team. If anything, it was considered a sign. They had been researching the group of Pokemon for a while by then, and the political atmosphere between Alola and the PLA had begun to soften considerably – though it would still be quite some time before they'd be recognized.

One of the research assistants left a week after the attack, taking everyone's research with him to act as a representative for the camp to the PLA and FRU until my father could be freed up enough to go. The other researcher went a month later when less than five of the parliament remained.

The camp was collapsed, and all the necessary parties were notified that field research had come to a conclusion. Info had trickled to my mother from the PLA that the association admitted to the Alolan government of the Rowlet parliaments arrival in the Bramble Forest. Interestingly enough, they weren't upset that a native species of theirs was researched outside of their jurisdiction. In fact, they were impressed, and wanted to meet my father and his team.

My mother let the PLA have it. They had kept a secret for nothing, fearing it would have made the political climate worse for them. She was quick to appear on radio shows and dismiss the current PLA CEOs and their actions. It never turned into the scandal she had hoped for though. I always thought that she tried to put the pressure on them because of me. All it did was have the PLA cut most of her sources of income.

My father dismissed them as well, but in a more polite and super effective manner. He apologized for the PLA, on live television, with Alolan officials in the same room. It forced the PLA to go along with it. My father's name was somewhat known now, was in good standing with Alolan officials, and he was still considered freelance. The PLA couldn't touch him.

It sounds silly, or nonsensical, I know, but keep in mind I was still young at the time. I didn't know all the details surrounding what the PLA and the Alolan government or any of them were doing. To me, it just sounded like adults being crybabies.

When my mother and the veteran trainer could no longer find any of the Rowlet parliament in the forest, they assumed that was the end of it. The veteran was the last to go home.

You know, my mother never really liked him. I wonder why?

It was coming close to my tenth birthday, and by then, the cabin had been fully repaired, with the FRU paying for the damages.

Though the PLA was still unmoving about the Bramble Forest and its use as a route for trainers, the FRU was happy with what they saw, and sanctioned it an intermediate zone for rangers – meaning a rank 10 ranger was able to pass through without the need of permission from the FRU.

I got to meet lots of rangers then – even kids who were tagging along with their siblings who shouldn't have technically been there. I didn't really meet any new friends since they were passing by, but it was cool to see kids my age at least.

Sky was graduating soon, and said she was going to be home as soon as she was. Apparently, she was sick of the city life in the Unova region and was ready to be with her family. On the day of her return, we celebrated her graduation and my birthday at the same time. Just the family.

She told us about what she learned, and all the new friends she made, and what happened that semester and her finals. She graduated third in her class. We were all very proud of her.

She was especially worried about me though. She asked about my quill scar, and what happened and everything. I did my best to tell her, but I didn't remember as much then as I do now. But it was still nice to see her so happy, and so worried about me too.

I went to bed well that night. I had a happy dream about my family and our cabin as a boat. We were sailing on the sea, my mother and father on the porch, as my sister was in the kitchen juggling Pokemon eggs. All the while I sat by the sliding door, watching the waves in the distance, seeing all the shiny Magikarp splash a hundred feet into the air.

When I woke up, I greeted the sunny morning rays that came in through the window.

And then I froze.

"Dad!" I yelled with fearful worry.

He rushed in. I pointed toward the window. He went wide eyed.

There on the sill, pecking on the glass, was a Rowlet, tagged with a number seven.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	2. Rare Candy

**Chapter Two**  
 **Rare Candy**

* * *

I wasn't sure what to feel when I saw that Rowlet hanging out on the window sill. I don't think my father knew what to feel either. If anything, he was probably more confused than I was.

The parliament had left over the past year, and there had been no signs of them returning. They had even gone as far as to destroy any nests they had made. No Rowlet, Dartrix, or Decidueye feathers had been discovered since they left. Hell, for that matter, no bird feathers of any type had been seen anywhere in the forest. The place was mostly made up of nervous bug types, so it was a surprise to see Number Seven make an appearance so long after it's family had left.

"Maybe if we don't do anything it'll go away," my father said, unsure of his own advice.

We tried to do just that. It didn't work.

Number Seven had enough of an ability to fly around the house enough times to meet us wherever we went. I say we, when really, I meant me. It just wouldn't stop following me. In bed, there it was on the sill. At breakfast, there it was by the sliding glass door. When I was going to school, it would always hop along beside me.

"I'm sure it'll get bored if we keep ignoring it," my mother suggested.

Of course, that did nothing. For a solid month the Rowlet continued to follow me around as if lost in the forest and clinging to the first sign of life it could find. That may not have been so far from the truth.

My sister wasn't helping matters, considering she was feeding him.

After things had settled down from her return, we decided to turn my father's research building into a breeding center for Sky, so she could get some practice in, before going to university in Johto. My father moved what little he had left into the small office inside the cabin.

My parents scolded her for feeding the Rowlet, knowing it would never leave if she did, but her reasoning was that the forest was just too dangerous for a base evolution of a Pokemon.

"It's not hurting anyone," she assured us, "and it's big brother flew away somewhere, remember? Besides, having something other than Scyther and Ledybas are good for my Dittos."

My sister owned about three Dittos at this point, using them for breeding practice. She wasn't quite at the level of checking stats or individual variations, but she was slowly getting there. That was the point of going to a university for the next six years, after all.

Eventually, my parents gave up and allowed the Rowlet to roam around outside. When it wasn't attached to me, it was playing with the Dittos, which usually transformed into other Rowlets to keep it company. Sky considered Dittos to be parent like in their affection to stray child Pokemon. They were nice to it, and that's all I could hope for.

The little guy eventually grew on me, and a few months after sticking around with my family, he was finally invited inside the cabin. Mind you, my mother's Dragonite was out the first time it happened. And the second. And third, fourth, fifth, AND sixth times too. See was worried, as you could tell.

We got him on a good diet of Pokemon feed and healthy dietary puffins to make up for any missing nutrition. When my father alerted the FRU about the Rowlet, they were quick to send someone out to do basic testing on it, just in case it may have been carrying something we weren't aware of.

Testing concluded it was only a year or two younger than me, was perfectly healthy, and had no abnormalities in its wingspan, at least compared to other Pokemon and Rowlet data at the time. It wouldn't be for another while before the PLA recognized Alola as a League region, so by then, data on the Alola Pokemon and their variations would be made more public.

But until then, we had a rarity in our mitts. Alola Pokemon were only allowed in Kanto and certain parts of Unovu at the time. Fiore and the other ranger regions allowed any Pokemon from any region due to their neutrality and dismissal of trainer activities.

"It's a healthy stray!" the nurse from the FRU informed us.

Everyone had been calling him that. It was a good name, so that's what this little Rowlet became: Stray.

My parents and Sky thought it fit him. And with that small gesture, he was a part of our family… and my responsibility.

"He seems to like you the most," my mother said. "That means you have to be the one to take care of him."

I had never had a Pokemon of my own before. I was still a year or so away from being old enough to become a trainer in most regions, and another two or three to consider becoming a ranger. So this was a real treat for me, and a good way to figure out where I wanted to go in life.

He was a handful though. I don't think a lot of people realize how dirty flying type bird Pokemon could get. True, Stray knew how to clean himself, and we made sure to give him a bath every few days, but he molted – a lot. He had a strange combination of feather and down that was always being shed. We weren't sure if that was because he was young, or if it was natural for Rowlets. All I remember was spending half an hour a day cleaning up all the furniture because of it.

I didn't mind. He was a good bird. Very well behaved, never attacked anyone, and always knew when not to cause a ruckus. Then again, that last part may have been my mother, who got pretty loud herself when Stray chirped a bit too many times.

He got to come with me to classes after a while too. I couldn't tell you the envy on some of the occasional children's faces when they saw that I got a Pokemon before they did. It wouldn't be long before they had one of their own – their very own starters. Any kids who I saw at school, once they had their starter, they were gone. Off to one of the regions that allowed training.

I wondered if maybe that was what my path could be. Could I become a trainer like my mother and work my way to the Elite Four of one of the major regions?

Well, I talked to my mother about it, and we tried for a week or two to get Stray to follow basic attack commands – vine whip, tackle, growl – but nothing ever stuck. In fact, it would always stare confused at my mother's Luxray, before turning around and coming back to me, wanting to play. Obviously, this specific Rowlet wasn't meant to be a trainer Pokemon.

I thought that was fine. The truth is I only wanted to test him out to see how strong he was. I think I was only maybe half interested in becoming a trainer. By the time I was thirteen I was leaning closer to researcher or ranger.

Sky had gone off to university by then, forced to leave her Dittos behind, as per the university rules of no outside Pokemon of a close relationship. My mother appreciated it, actually. Sky's Dittos made for good guards when they eventually mastered my mother's Luxray, Dragonite, and Arcanine transformations and their move sets.

One day, I was told there'd be no more schooling for me. My teacher had taught me all she could, up to what she "knew a young man would need". I was ecstatic!

Sadly, unlike my sister at the time, I did not have a research team to fall back on to learn and discover. Sky learned about breeding through the assistants and the veteran that had been there. Father taught her what he knew, which was little use to a budding breeder, but enough to get her interested. That's why they sent her off to a boarding school that leaned toward that specialty.

But what about me? That was the question.

My parents discussed it, thinking that a basic boarding school for two to four years might help, and might also give me a few ideas on where to go. I wasn't opposed to it, but I did want to see what the school looked like.

My mother found a lot of schools and their websites, showing me what she found every day for a few weeks. Some of them looked nice, but what did I know? I was getting lazy with nothing to preoccupy my days, only going outside to get some exercise for myself and Stray, and spending the rest of my days reading stories or playing video games.

"Well, we don't want to keep you here your whole life," my father sighed. "You need to get out there and meet some new people. Make some friends, explore new places… meet some girls." He chuckled at that, going on a spiel about growing up and what it was like for him at my age, and how I'll see how cute girls are and what to do and what not to do.

We'll touch on that later.

Still, he was right – I was growing up.

I was getting tall, though not as tall as I was hoping to grow. My voice kept cracking between high and low, having trouble settling down somewhere in the middle. I wasn't growing a mustache, but I did have very light shadow and stubble slowly coming in.

"What do you think Stray?" I asked him while looking at myself in the bathroom mirror. "I'm even getting a couple of chest hairs. I guess it's not so bad so far."

Stray was supportive, if not a little worried. I think he was concerned he was becoming the baby of the family. I didn't think Pokemon could think like that, but I was assured by my family that some Pokemon are more sentient than others when it comes to things like that.

So, you can imagine my surprise when three days after that conversation, I awoke to find that Stray was nowhere around me. He usually slept at the foot of the bed, but wasn't there that morning. I went downstairs, and what do I find; my mother and father, tape measure out, note taking the whole shebang. And there, on the table, was a Dartrix.

"Guess who's growing up too?" my mother playfully said as she measured his wingspan.

Stray looked so different. He was at least a foot or so taller, and much wider than his form as a Rowlet, but more top heavy. Coupled that with the feathered mane around his face, and almost joyous expression he seemed to have, he looked nearly dignified – good enough to go to a fancy ball. And there I was: shirtless, in my pajama bottoms, looking like death with my bedhead.

Still, he was ecstatic to see me, hopping off the table in the middle of my parents' research, and rushing over to me. He couldn't stay on my shoulder anymore though; he was much heavier than as a Rowlet.

Outside of that physical change though, nothing seemed to be off about his personality. Well, mostly.

He had become more… prim I suppose is the word? Yeah, we'll go with that.

He was more intent on his appearance than as a Rowlet, making sure to keep himself cleaned and groomed at all times. He wanted a bath nearly every day, which wasn't an issue. I just had him come into the shower with me in the morning.

He seemed almost more careful about things, but was also more clumsy too, if that makes sense. He was also a bit more emotional, I guess. His face had become easier to read. You could tell when he was sorry for something, or mad about something too. My mother couldn't even match that kind of tone. I did though.

Puberty is funny. From an emotional stand point, it can make you go off at the most bizarre of times. Stray and I argued a lot. I don't know if either of us really understood why, but we just did. My parents thought it was hilarious, because no matter what he argued about, we always made up.

Okay, so he had changed, but I think it was for the better. Like me, he was getting older.

On my fourteenth birthday, I announced what school I would be attending. I was going to a ranger school in Almia, specifically the one in Vientown. I had decided not to follow in either of my parents' footsteps. They were supportive. I was happy for it. Stray, not so much.

My parents had requested (demanded, really) that he stay behind. While they did acknowledge he and I were essentially joined at the hip, they thought it would be best to keep him in the Bramble Forest with them since he could be seen as a distraction. I was a little upset, but I understood at the same time.

I sat him down and talked to him about it. He stayed pretty mad at me for a while. So much so that he even got depressed and stopped grooming himself. We thought he may have mistaken me for leaving and never coming back, or that maybe me leaving without him was somehow his fault.

We did our best to reassure him, and eventually, he understood that I was leaving to further my education as a ranger, and that I would be visiting when I had the chance. In the end, he and I both threw some last minute temper tantrums the week before I was scheduled to fly out.

The day I left, I said my farewells to my parents, and left Stray with a big hug. The quills on the inside of his wings stuck to my shirt, making it difficult to get away from him. He did it on purpose. That was alright. It meant we got to hug a little bit longer. He eventually let me go and watched as I boarded the plane to Almia.

After getting settled into my dorm and meeting my roommate, I tried my best to adjust. I hadn't really hung out with other people my age, and the only friend I had for a prolonged period of time was an Alolan Pokemon. That actually got me some cred in the hallways. Alola Pokemon were starting to be brought to various schools and universities in many different regions (primarily for educational purposes) by the PLA and Ranger Associations, so I got a lot of questions asked. It helped to make some human friends.

I'd send photos home via email and Pidgeotto mail sometimes. I'd get pictures back of my parents and Stray. And sometimes, those Pidgeotto letters would come back with a reply with a poorly scribbled and scratchy "h E ll O" or something like that. I can't imagine that it would be easy to write with a talon, let alone with my parents having to show him how to write each individual letter. It meant that they were researching his intelligence in his second evolutionary form. I'm sure he could understand them and human speech perfectly, but actual writing? Not as a Dartrix.

Every holiday and such, I'd go to visit Bramble Forest, which let me see my family again, including Sky. We did our best to sync our vacations up if possible.

We'd swap stories about our school lives, listen to my parents talk about their research and how happy they were to have the cabin to themselves, and Stray would sit in my lap and nuzzle against me, just happy to see me. I'd show everyone my training as a ranger too, capturing and releasing some of the bug Pokemon around the forest. Stray thought it was hilarious for some reason. Had no idea why. When I had to go back to school, he'd pull the same quill trick from when I left the first time, and I'd get caught in a big hug.

Now, getting to that subject that I said I'd touch on later…

My group of friends in Almia was a gaggle of four boys – myself included. And as four boys in their teenage years, when not studying Pokemon or world and region history, found ourselves observing the opposite sex. Well, they did. I ended up observing the masculine one.

I was never embarrassed by this. It was normal in some of the regions, looked as something of a peculiarity in others. My group of friends didn't seem to care one way or another when I eventually came clean. Actually, they were glad I did. Apparently, it was much easier to pick up women when one of the group wasn't interested in them. It meant I had to play the role of wingman, and I had to do it with each of them individually. You can imagine how annoying that became.

All except for a friend from Johto. Eventually, he got a bit curious about me, and started asking some questions about what I liked. You can guess what happened there. He and I ended up being friends with benefits through the remainder of my time at the school. Closer to graduation, he found himself a girlfriend, and that was that. I was happy for him, honestly I was.

Though graduation is a different story altogether when I somehow ended up in bed with one of my teachers. Even to this day I don't know how that happened. Was a lot of fun, though. I don't regret it. But yeah, graduation week was weird for me.

Getting back on track.

Graduation meant that I was no longer a novice ranger with no rank, and could be commissioned by the Ranger Unions for missions. I got my first one a week after graduation, which I passed with flying colors, cementing me as a rank one ranger. It gave me some extra spending money to get gifts for my family and Stray for my trek back.

Ranger schooling only technically lasts for about two years, but you could stay optionally for up to four – five if you chose to became a union representative. I had originally intended for the two years, but the fact that I was doing very well with my grades – not to mention I was getting some action on the side – had me staying the whole four years.

Touching down at the Fiore region airport, I couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief that this would be the last time for a while I'd have to fly back home. My intention was to spend about two weeks resting from my finals, graduation, and first mission, and then go to the FRU to register myself. I had even intended to take Stray with me so he and I could find an apartment together and really live as single men in an independent world.

Did that sound too cliché? Hm…

My parents were there to greet me, but not Stray. I asked about him, but they said it'd be for the best that I see him with my own eyes. That could either be a real good or real bad thing.

I was told Sky only had two years left with her university and then she was going to probably come back home for a few months. Originally, she had planned to move back to Sinnoh immediately after graduation, but my father assured her that she would be flat ass broke by then, and would probably need to take on a few loose jobs in Fiore to make a nest egg for herself and her Dittos.

"University is like a money suck," my father informed me. "You keep giving them money, and they keep asking for more." A bit cynical, but he always told us how much more he learned from interning than going to a university.

We eventually drove back to the old familiar cabin where I unpacked my things and put them back in my room. Thus far, Stray was nowhere to be seen. I looked all over the area, but couldn't find him. I was debating if I should go out into the forest to look.

"That's not a good idea," my mother said. She explained that the past year had seen a surprising upswing in Beedrill and Scyther that they were looking into.

"Stray is here though," she continued. She then looked up to the roof of the cabin.

I peered up, and saw a shadow blotting out most of the sun. It jumped down, gliding steadily until in landed right in front of me, covered in what looked like some feathered cape. But it wasn't a cape; it was actually his wings.

He looked so remarkably different. He had grown; he had grown much taller than he was as a Dartrix. His face was buried beneath what looked like a green hood, though I wasn't sure if that was actually part of his body. His eyes were focused, his beak was sharp, and his colors camouflaged with the forest. He looked right at me – with his eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Stray evolved?" I exclaimed.

He wasted no time giving me a great big hug.

A Decidueye. I didn't expect to come home to that.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	3. Awakening

**Chapter Three** **  
Awakening**

* * *

That's twice now that Stray had evolved without me looking. And both times, it's been framed as a surprise. I was always under the impression that Pokemon evolution was based on experience in battle or use of specific stones, but was corrected by my mother that there were other factors involved too. What those factors were involving Stray specifically, she had no idea.

He had gotten taller. He was almost as tall as me, just an inch or two shorter. It made me lament my 5'6" stature. What information they had about Decidueyes suggested somewhere between 5'0" and 5'4". Adding insult to injury, my sister was taller than I was. How'd that happen?

I got a full-sized hug out of it, though. Big winged hugs are really nice too. You should try it sometime.

My parents wasted absolutely no time sharing what info they were able to gather, and what they had cross referenced with what the Alolan government had released at the time. Nothing was too out of the ordinary: Grass and flying type, better specs on paper than its previous evolutions, the usual things you'd find from an evolved Pokemon. Still, it's speed and use of quills as arrows surprised them.

It amazed me how they made it seem like a wonder when a few years earlier I had one of the species' quills sticking out of my shoulder. I guess it just meant they could study this one at close proximity. No more having to keep mother's Dragonite out in case something went wrong with this Decidueye.

Outside of that, nothing really changed between the two of us. I showed Stray my graduation papers certifying me as a ranger, as well as my officially sanctioned Capture Styler. I explained what it did, and he still thought the whole thing was funny, but I think he understood it better after I went into detail.

I asked him if he wanted to be my partner Pokemon, explaining it didn't involve captivity of any kind. He agreed rather quickly, but I think he saw it as more of an excuse to hang out with me.

After I took a week to recoop from graduation and such, Stray and I crossed over into Fiore proper and made our way to one of the ranger bases to register me and Stray as a local team. Registration was rather painless, save for the mountains of tedious yes-and-no paperwork, but before the day was done, we had access to all the rank one and two missions around us.

At first, we tried to commute and save us some money, but that didn't work out since it was usually a two to three hour bus ride with all the stops from the forest to our base. We then tried to convince a local rep of the FRU to turn one of the hubs in Bramble Forest into a base of sorts, but this was immediately shot down. When I asked why, they explained only specific rangers were allowed to station and work from Bramble Forest. We were still considered civilians within the forest. When I asked what the qualifications were to be chosen, I was sternly told not to ask again.

With all of that shot down, the next solution was to suck it up and just drive there ourselves, which was still about a 90-minute drive. My parents rarely used the car to go into town, so I was allowed use of it as long as it was for my job as a ranger.

So, after three months of driving back and forth and only making enough to cover gas and food, Stray and I decided to take a week off and go into Fiore to apartment shop. We found a nice hotel that gave discounts to rangers and used that as our base of operations until we could find someplace permanent. My parents had given me a small budget to work with: enough for a deposit on a cheaper apartment, as well as two to three months worth of rent.

We spent the mornings of that week apartment shopping, and the evenings working on night missions. We were utterly exhausted every night. The hotel beds were comfy enough, or at least, I assumed they were. When you have no energy, anything was comfortable at that point. Decidueye no longer slept at my feet, but on the ground, leaning up against the side of the bed, huddled up like a bird would be.

During the day, Stray was usually pretty active, as well as touchy-feely. He enjoyed my company a bit too much though, nudging and being generally annoying, but in a cute way, if that makes sense. He was so happy to have me around. Those few years of me being gone really must have took a toll on him.

I was always told by other rangers how strange Stray was as my partner Pokemon. He didn't do much to help on the missions outside of act as moral support, and carry the bag with general supplies in it. He was nice enough to hold even other rangers belongings when it was a group mission, or allow smaller partner Pokemon to ride on his head.

I didn't think much about this sort of behavior as my partner. Stray was Stray. He wasn't the kind of Pokemon who liked to get into fights, or use any fancy abilities to get ahead.

He was my friend.

No matter what, we were essentially joined at the hip. I'd make jokes, he'd laugh at them. When we were in town shopping, he'd try on crazy things, and I'd laugh at him. When he felt like embarrassing me in front of other rangers, he'd do something odd like hide me in his wingspan, or playfully nip the air in front of my face to get me to flinch.

Some of the rangers thought it was hilarious; others thought it was a little creepy.

I wouldn't lie and say he wasn't close to me. That was just him. Even as a Rowlet he liked being as close to me as he could. I couldn't say there was anything wrong there. Some Pokemon are just like that.

"A lot of starters do that," one of the rangers commented. "They're sort of like your family, or that one childhood friend you always stuck with."

It made sense. I was more surprised by the starter comment.

I hadn't heard at the time that Rowlets, as well as two other types I hadn't heard of, had been put into a testing phase for trainer starters. It meant that Alola was one step closer to being recognized by the PLA.

In any case, the week ended on a dower note with us being unsuccessful in finding a place that fit what we were looking for. Anything that was within our price range was already filled up, and anything that was open was too expensive. Everything else were in some shady neighborhood in one of the towns that housed some Neo Rocket goons.

So we came back empty handed.

"Fiore's housing economy is tough," Sky explained in an email to me. "I have a friend who could only get a place by getting some roommates."

The thought had occurred. But I had been with a roommate for four years, and was ready for my independent life as a single young man. The only person I wanted to share that space with was Stray.

And so, we resumed out commute back and forth for another few months. We made sure to stay in Fiore proper at least for twelve hours to get enough scratch to make some money as well as afford the gas back and forth. It was a pain. It was only going to get tougher from there.

One day, I had woken up before dawn to get ready to leave, as I usually did, and to get Stray to do the same. Oddly, he wasn't by the side of the bed this time. I assumed he was already up, and went downstairs to find him. Sure enough, there he was outside the sliding door, knelt down at something in front of him.

"What did you find there, buddy?" I yawned, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

I stopped with surprise. Stray looked absolutely a wreck, almost with a panic in his eyes. It was rare to see him in such a state. I wondered what it was that had done this to him.

In front of him was a Pidgey. I hadn't seen one in this forest before. I hadn't seen a bird Pokemon in general in the forest, outside of the parliament. Unfortunately, looking at it, it was going to be the last wild one I saw as well.

It was pretty banged up. Actually, that was only putting it lightly.

It's wing was broken, it had cuts all over it, and part of its beak had been chipped off. I flinched when I realized it was missing a leg, looking to be recently cut off and still bleeding. My guess was it had stumbled into the forest and made contact with one of the groups of Scyther deep in the wood.

I woke my mother up and brought her down. She had dealt with some life threatening situations with Pokemon before, and knew how to temporarily mend them until a physician or nurse could get there. She did the best she could. My father woke up to the commotion, utterly shocked that a Pidgey made its way in there.

"Poor thing," he sighed. "I don't know how it got so deep in here by itself."

With the parliament of Rowlett, they had some Dartrix and a Decidueye to protect them. But this was still a fairly young Pidgey. It didn't stand a chance.

My mother did what she could to make it comfortable, but by the time the nurse from the post had got there, it had already passed. Apparently, there were too many internal injuries for anything to be done anyways. All the nurse would have been able to do was give it a more painless death.

We buried it in a small area to the side of the cabin. My parents had created a small picketed fence there for any of the Pokemon we lost during our stay there. My mother had lost a Fearow due to old age while I was in Almia, and my sister buried a Ditto who had exhausted the last of its strength transforming. A third grave was made next to them. We gave it the name Wing on the tombstone, so we could honor the Pidgey well.

Stray cried most of the day because of it. I kept him home while I went into Fiore to do some missions. I didn't want to lose what little we had saved because of an extra day off. It stunk, and I felt bad for leaving him, but he understood when I got home. As usual, he didn't want to leave my side and clung to me as he sniffled and whined. My mind wasn't too far from the poor thing either.

My mother said Stray did the same thing with her Fearow and my sister's Ditto. He couldn't handle death well. He wasn't as exposed to it as we were, watching the media and seeing it in stories. His whole life was in that cabin in the woods, surrounded by the few people and Pokemon he cared for the most. It explained his behavior after that.

He became overly protective of me, not trusting other Pokemon who he didn't already know, and not trusting any ranger that I assured him was alright. On more than one occasion he snapped at another ranger and their Slowbro. I had to explain the situation multiple times. Everyone handled grief differently.

At times, I found he wasn't even sleeping through the night. He was just sitting by the bed, eyes full and awake, waiting to see if something was coming for me. He usually slept on the way to and from Fiore during that period.

This culminated to a day where he didn't even want me to leave the house. Anytime I'd try to get to the door, he used his wingspan to block me, and forced me away from the door. And even when I was able to get the doors open, he'd grab me and pull me into a tight hug, hiding me underneath his wings. When he did that, I could hear his heart beating abnormally fast. His body shivered and quaked with worry, which only forced him to tighten his grip on me.

When my mother and father finally awoke, they saw the mess he had become and had no choice but to paralyze him to get his grip off me. With the paralysis in full effect, they laid him down (with my mother's Arcanine nearby), cured him, and then waited for him to calm down and sleep.

They called in the nurse, who in turn, had to call in a specialist from Fiore, who didn't arrive for another day after that. I was instructed not to leave the cabin until then, as they were afraid it might make Stray's condition worse.

The specialist was a Pokemon therapist by the name of Dr. Spry, who specialized in Pokemon and human relations. She had decades of experience, and felt confident in her studies, which put us at ease, somewhat. They thought she would be the best person for the job considering Stray's deep connection with me.

We thought the worst, but it didn't turn out quite as bad.

"He has a simple case of anxiety," she explained. "It's fairly normal with grieving Pokemon who have a close relationship with a still living trainer or partner. You mentioned this one had trouble handling the death of a family member?"

"Not a family member," I explained, "but a wild bird Pokemon who appeared at our cabin in critical condition."

Dr. Spry wrinkled her nose as she tried to think.

"Death is different for every Pokemon," she said. "It's especially difficult when the Pokemon experience it close to another of their same type. Perhaps it would be best for everyone to sit down and talk about it. It's a tricky subject, I understand, but if you explain to him and get it out in the open for everyone, he might benefit from it."

We agreed that was probably going to be the best course of action. She gave me her card and asked that I call if I felt there was anything else. She also gave us a prescription for some mild anxiety medication that he was to take as needed, were it to happen again. My mother recognized the brand as a very light sedative – no ill effects in the short or long term, but was considered habit forming.

Then, we all sat down and talked to Stray about what was happening: about myself, the Pidgey and the rest of the Pokemon who died, his anxiety, and what we can do to help him cope. I think it helped.

He stayed home for about two weeks after the fact, staying within eye of my mother and father, and making sure he took his medication when he felt like he was about to start having a panic attack. Stray was good about alerting my parents to the possibility, so he didn't abuse his medication, which I had heard my mother say some Pokemon actually do, much like humans.

It wasn't the meds or the time off that helped him though. I mean, at first I thought that, because it was a nearly night and day difference one morning where I woke up and he was ready and willing to go. I thought things had returned to normal due to some epiphany he had, or something to do with his meds. But a week after he felt better, I woke up before dawn to find him missing.

My alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour, which meant I could still sleep, but with him missing, I felt like something was off. I made my way downstairs again, afraid I might catch him with another half dead Pokemon who had wandered close to the cabin. But instead, I found him in the kitchen, just standing. No lights were on, no sounds were being made. He was just in the kitchen, staring at the wall about two feet in front of him.

"Stray? What's wrong?" I asked.

He didn't move.

He stood there, chirping something in a quiet tone.

I approached him. He was completely still, his back to me. I looked down at his right wing. It looked like it had been curled into a fist, but not tight as if he wanted to fight or something. It was almost like he was holding something.

I took another step, and his muttering ceased. I stood there for a moment, my mind wondering if maybe he was about to have a panic attack. I tried to remain quiet, only allowing myself to breath and edge silently closer. I felt something cold flow around me as I entered close to him.

I reached out my hand and placed it on his wing.

"Stray?"

In a snap of his neck, his head reeled high and he let out a grisly screech. The entire first floor shook, forcing me to grab a hold of something to keep my balance. Lightbulbs flickered for a split second then burst as glass rained down from above, thankfully made of safety glass to not cut him or I.

I heard rustling outside the cabin, as if something had rushed out into the woods. I looked around – all the doors and windows were open. I think my heart stopped beating for a second. It felt like a dream.

My parents rushed down afraid of what was happening. I hadn't noticed them. My eyes had shifted to Stray, who turned around to greet me with cheerful eyes. He then looked around with some general confusion, acting as if it were stranger that I was up at this hour, and not him.

My parents were in a tizzy, asking questions left and right about what happened, why was there glass on the floor, why was the sliding glass door open and cracked, and what was that shaking? Neither Stray nor I had the answers it seemed like.

Stray simply took my hand gently and led me back upstairs.

I wanted to stop and ask so many questions myself, but something felt wrong. It felt like a sort of confusion had taken over me, and I couldn't keep myself level headed. I was being drawn along. Something was stopping me from even looking back.

But it didn't hurt. I just couldn't turn back. I couldn't get away to ask what was happening.

And Stray simply kept giving me a gentle and worried stare, leading me into the bedroom and closing the door. He placed me back into my bed, tucking me in, hilariously enough, and then placed himself down against the edge of the bed on the floor like he usually did.

I was fading so quickly. I couldn't keep awake, and my body felt heavy. I felt like I was being held in place, with nowhere to go. My vision was blurring and I suddenly could feel myself being dragged into something, not of any realty. Was it a dream? I don't know.

My parents rushed in, noticing how difficult it was for me to keep awake. They tried to shake me back to my senses, but nothing was working. They couldn't even lift me from the bed. It was as if I had turned into steel and was too heavy to lift. But that felt like the least of my worries suddenly.

Something else was there, besides them. I don't think they saw it. I know they didn't see it.

A one-legged Pidgey with scars all over its body landed on my chest. It cocked its head at me, looking confused and a bit surprised. I knew why.

My parents didn't see it; only I could.

It hobbled up to my face, got in close, and whispered "sleep."

The last thing I remember was seeing something wrapped around my body. It was the first time I saw the chains.

And then I was gone.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	4. Paralysis Heal

**Chapter Four** **  
Paralysis Heal**

* * *

I had an odd dream that night.

I was in bed, laying there with my covers up to my neck, resting on my back, completely still. I was staring up at an empty void of endless black, like I was trying to find something specific in there. Nothing came to mind as to what though.

I looked over the edge of my bed and was greeted with the same nothingness. All around me was nothing but black, though my bed and body were clearly visible.

I laid back down and tried to go to sleep in my own dream. I had a lot of trouble, tossing and turning when I couldn't get comfortable. Eventually I gave up and opened my eyes. Only for a split second did I see the faint image of a creature with it's claws gripped to the side of my bed and large eyes staring at me no more than a few inches from my face.

I woke up with a jolt.

I felt sick. Not like nauseated, but more like my head was about to split open.

Looking around, there was no infinite void – just my room and all of my belonging. I carefully looked to the side of my bed, still a little shaken by the creature in my dreams, only to find Stray, sleeping soundly. I did my best to get up without waking him, and headed downstairs.

My parents were already there, sipping on coffee, looking strangely awkward. When they saw me clamber down the steps, they dropped everything and gave me a giant hug.

"Good morning," I said, confused by my parents deep concern.

"How do you feel?" they asked. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head, the pain from it causing me some dizziness. Maybe it was just neck problems.

"I think I'll be fine," I tell them. "I gotta tell you about this thing that happened last night. I think you two may have heard it, or maybe you did see it, I don't know. The whole things feels a little fuzzy."

They looked at each other and then down to me, my confusion growing more.

"You've been out for about a day and a half," my mother explained.

Had it been that long? It had honestly felt like a restful night's sleep, outside of the nightmare I had. Through the pain in head, my thoughts drifted back to Stray.

"He's been fine," my mother continued. "He hasn't really been responsive to us, though."

"We had a doctor coming out today to check up on you," my father added. "We were trying to get them in yesterday, but with the power and phone lines going out and all…"

They explained that after Stray's screech, the power for the cabin went completely out. Same for the phone lines in the entire forest. They eventually came back later in the day, but my mother had to drive into town to try and get a doctor, only to find no one available until the following day. She told me later she threw a fit about it.

The whole time my parents were explaining things, I couldn't help but think about the night before… err, two nights before. I didn't feel anything was wrong at the time. I remember Stray, and then something sort of compelling me to go back to bed. And then I saw…

A Pidgey.

The voice it moaned.

And what looked like chains?

I told my parents, and as anyone would if you told them something like that, became rather skeptical. My mother assumed that maybe I was hallucinating or something. My father however, looked up the stairs at the empty hallway. Something was definitely on his mind.

The doctor came and went, finding nothing wrong with me, and attributed it to work exhaustion. I didn't think so, but I wasn't going to say that to his face. He prescribed rest for that day, and if I was feeling up to it, returning to work the next.

After he left, I immediately suggested we contact Dr. Spry. My father was quick to agree. She was able to open a spot for visitation the next week, so we'd have to wait until then.

I returned to work, leaving Stray behind again. Something didn't feel right about bringing him along. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was off. This repeated for the week until Dr. Spry's arrival.

Things were awkward for me with Stray. I still hung out with him when I was home, and still chatted and joked around, but there was something else – I couldn't tell what though. He didn't seem upset about the Pidgey or the deaths anymore, and he wasn't hysterically attached like he had been the few weeks before. It looked like he had got back to his own self.

But I never talked about that night with him. I wanted to wait for Dr. Spry, just in case something happened. I guess I had some trust issues with him all of a sudden.

Dr. Spry started with some simple exercises – yes or no questions using inkblots, basic discussion, and even bringing a Spearow and Hoothoot with her to try and keep the atmosphere relaxed. The idea was keeping Pokemon of same types together in a session helps keep the stress levels down.

The birds seemed to be on edge though. Spry wasn't sure why, and I doubt the Pokemon even knew either. Still, it wasn't enough to take away from their purpose.

It wasn't like Stray needed them though. He was completely calm the entire time. Even when the subject of the night the week before came up.

"Did something scare you?" Spry asked.

He shook his head.

"Was there something there that caught your eye?"

He nodded.

"Would you like to tell us?"

He shook his head again.

"Will what happened that night happen again?"

He shook his head.

"Then that's it."

Just like that, she was done with her line of questioning. It seemed entirely too simple.

Turns out, like in most therapy sessions, if a patient doesn't want to discuss things, they can't be forced to. So she left it at that. She told us if anything strange were to happen to give her a call, and gave us her direct line. She claimed she sensed something in him, but wasn't sure what, and left.

I gave Stray another week off from accompanying me out in the field, just in case. By the time it ended, he was restless to come with me to work. I had no problems with it at that point. We woke up, did our morning routine, got in the car, and headed to Fiore. Sometime in the middle of the day we got lunch, continued with more work, got our pay for our missions, and headed home. Everything was normal again.

Life resumed as it once had. We did our job, my parents did theirs, my sister was working through her university, and that was that.

Another year passed, and I can't say anything exciting happened. Well, I guess I could say that, but there's always something happening in everyone's life.

Our humble little forest was developing a sort of infestation that my father was absolutely giddy over. Those Scyther and Beedrill that seemed to come into play had taken over a good third of the entire forest, and after getting approval from the FRU and PLA, the old Rowlet Parliament Research Squad was back together again, much to the chagrin of my mother who had to meet with the veteran again.

Stray and I tried to do the apartment shopping thing again, and found a place that we could crash at for two nights at a time. We paid for half the rent with two other rangers, who used the place when we weren't there. It was a nice little prefurnished affair that wasn't anything too special, but it helped reduce our gas budget for commuting a little, so both Stray and I were thankful about that. At the very least, we got to sleep in for two days out of the week.

Sky had a year left at the university, and was eager to come home. She made this perfectly clear on the last holiday she visited, alerting us that her student loans were piling up, and she just couldn't afford a place of her own right after university. My father relished in her misfortune ("Don't tell your sister, but I only finished paying mine off about three years ago."), while my mother offered support. Not only was the research team back together, but it looked like Sky's Ditto coral was making a return soon after that.

"He's gotten really attached to you, hasn't he?" Sky asked over our holiday dinner, referring to Stray.

We had brought a chair to the table, since he was too tall now to really perch anywhere that wasn't a tree. My father did his best to space the chairs out equally, but Stray just had to scoot his closer to mine.

"He likes his friend," my father said, cutting into a cooked, succulent Farfetch'd loaf. I couldn't help at laugh when Stray tore at his piece.

"At least we know he's a bird of prey," my sister giggled.

"And a cannibal," I snickered to him. He playfully nudged me, and leaned into close to share some of my personal space.

I don't know. Maybe I was too complacent with things getting back to normal to notice it at first. To be honest, I didn't think that anything odd was even happening. Stray just liked being close. I never really thought anything of it.

Maybe that's a problem I have – not noticing these sorts of things. Maybe it ran in my family, because my parents or Sky never talked about it outside of being purely platonic. But the other rangers at the stations in Fiore started talking.

"So do you think they are?" I heard one of them whisper at our direction one day. I turned to check on who, but they had already turned and walked away, probably noticing I had heard them.

"Some people are just close like that with their partners."

"Yeah, but isn't it creepy though?"

"Only if they really are. Those are just rumors remember?"

"Yeah, but still…"

It had become strange going to work. The rangers who were once open and honest with Stray and I were now a bit cautious and overly private. Neither of us really cared, but maybe that was because neither of us put two and two together. Looking back, I'm surprised how ignorant I was of the whole situation.

Eventually, while Stray and I were recovering between missions at a station, I had my direct superior pull me aside. She requested only me and told Stray to remain outside for the time being. It's never a good feeling to get pulled into a superior's office alone. I wondered what we did to get in trouble.

"Something wrong?" I asked, nerves starting to wrack me all over.

My superior took her seat and cleared her throat.

"Nothing," she started, "or at least I hope it's nothing. Clay, we've just been hearing some rumors around the water cooler, and it's apparently causing a bit of a stir with some of the rangers. Would you happen to know what they are?"

I shook my head. I honestly had no idea at the time.

"Well," she went on, "I don't know how it started, but there's some talk about you and your partner Pokemon's relationship. I think some people are thinking that you two are… too close, if you get my drift."

No, I didn't.

"And I know that a lot of Pokemon out there just get very attached to their human partners. I read it's a phase for a lot of them. My little brother had an Eevee that was just absolutely smitten with him. Got really competitive for his attention against his other Pokemon…"

"I'm sorry, Ms.," I interrupted, "but where is this going?"

She paused and looked away, slightly embarrassed for nearly going on a tangent.

"Right, well. What are your feelings on your partner?"

What an odd thing to be asked. I had never considered my feelings anything more than him being my closest friend. Stray was as close to a companion as I could ever get. I explained that he and I had grown up together, worked through some things, and ended up becoming partners when I became a ranger and joined the FRU.

My superior looked down at her desk and folded her fingers together, going lost in thought for a second or two.

"I thought as much. I'm sorry for bringing you in here under these circumstances. I'll partner with the other high ranks and tell them to put a stop to the rumors."

I still wasn't sure what she was going on about though, and I didn't want to leave unless I knew.

"What were you referring to, if I may ask, Ms.?" I finally asked.

She paused, thinking at first I may have been playing dumb, but grew surprised when she realized I was being completely honest.

"Wow," she laughed, "now I really feel bad about bringing you in here." She shook her head and let out a relieved sigh. "A lot of the rangers, mostly the lower ranks, were spreading rumors that you and Stray were… more than just partners. That you two were… partner-partners. Does that make sense?"

I think I heard glass cracking somewhere in the back of head, like someone had thrown a rock through a window, before screaming "AH-HA!" as loud as they could. I think I went pale as my mind fluttered about trying to make sense of what was just explained to me.

"Th-thank you," I said, standing up and ready to leave. "You don't have anything to worry about, I promise. I'll tell Stray to keep the public display of… friendship down a bit while we're in the stations."

"Well, you don't have to," she laughed, "but if you feel that will help put the other rangers' minds at ease, I won't stop you."

"Thank you for speaking to me, Ms."

She nodded, stood up, shook my hand, and we both left the office. What a sight it was to see some of the rangers pretending to stand outside talking about missions when they were really trying to eavesdrop. Already, my superior started hunting them down and giving them the third degree about it, as well as the problem with rumor spreading.

Me on the other hand, suddenly felt ill again. I didn't feel like looking for Stray at first. I think I needed some time to think, so I headed for the restroom and found an empty stall to sit and think for a few minutes.

I still remember that feeling too. That mental window had shattered and I was able to see things clearly through it. It felt like it made sense, or at least my mind was trying to make sense of it. He was always so clingy, and wanted to be around me, and was just generally…

I tried to shake myself out of it. I think my mind was trying to play tricks on me, trying to rationalize his affection of friendship for something more than that. He was a Pokemon. As my superior, my father, my mother, my sister, and Dr. Spry had told me through my life - this was normal for a Pokemon and a human. They get attached. The smart ones who can understand human language and empathize with them, especially.

But then I had a thought. What would have been different if he could communicate with me through more than just shakes and nods of the head?

Stray was smart. He was very smart, actually. He understood human language. He knew the difference between yes and no, which meant asking questions were easy. He could even solve puzzles and such when we were on missions. And I thought back to how calm and easy going he was when Dr. Spry was around the last time. If he could do all of that, what would he be able to say if he could talk?

He acted my age too. He was childish as a Rowlet, unruly and a bit rambunctious as a Dartrix, but very clever and understanding as a Decidueye. Well, currently he was. After the whole Pidgey and kitchen scream thing.

I still didn't feel good in that stall. My head hurt, and I think I needed to lay down. I decided to go find Stray and take the rest of the day off. Luckily, we were staying in town for the time being, so I didn't have to worry about any awkward car drives back to the cabin in Bramble Forest. I simply took us back to our shared apartment, and relaxed the rest of the day.

"Try not to be too close in the future," I explained to him. "A lot of the rangers are starting to say some things about us, and it may affect any jobs we get in the future. I'm not mad at you or anything, just worried. Do you understand?"

He nodded, looking only a bit embarrassed. I think he knew what I was referring to, and I think he knew that he overstepped his boundaries from time to time. He really was smart. I didn't have to go into detail or anything. Maybe he was smarter than me.

"You can still do all of that stuff when it's just the two of us, though, okay?"

I don't think I needed to say that. He got the idea of privacy. From then on, when we were with other people, he kept a bit more distance. It helped to quell some of the rumors. When we were alone, he stayed close, being his usual playful self.

I still felt like something was off about the whole thing, though. Maybe it was just me. Stray didn't catch onto it. I did my best to hide it from him. I didn't want him to see how off I felt, like I had something muddling in my head, trying to make a nest in my skull.

I got really depressed for a while there. Only a month or two (that actually sounds pretty long now that I think about it), but still enough time to where I needed to take a week off. We went home and decided to take it easy.

You can imagine our surprise to come home on the first day to find nobody was home. My parents as well as the research team had made a last second trip to go meet with the PLA and FRU about their findings in the forest. They left a note on the door about it, though I didn't understand why they didn't just text or send me an email or something. Turns out our network had been severed by some wandering Scyther.

In the letter, my parents insisted that I go back to the city and just stay there till they came home, but we didn't feel like driving back in and paying for a hotel for a few days. Plus, the area seemed safe enough, and Stray seemed confident that he was enough to protect me when I asked, but I doubted it since I had never seen him fight another Pokemon before.

We locked the doors, kept the blinds down and just enjoyed the time away from the noise. Television and video games kept us company, with the rest of the silence being filled with my rants about work, which Stray gladly listened to and offered advice based on yes and no questions he could answer with his head. Anytime we needed to use a network, my Pokegear's hotspot functionality was enough to provide that, though I'm sure we'd be feeling it on our bill later; one of the few times I envied trainers and their Pokegear contract discounts.

I didn't want to bring up the exact conversation I had with my boss to Stray. I knew he sensed that something else was on my mind besides work, but he never pushed it. You could tell he wanted to ask something by the look in his eyes though.

Our staycation had fallen on the late fall, which meant it was already getting cold. The leaves had already begun changing color, though the forest never seemed to shed them – another one of the oddities of this place.

This was also usually the time we'd see more of the insect types go into hibernation. But every time I went outside I could hear the call of Scyther and Beedrill in the distance. Their numbers were growing, and I was beginning to understand my parents worry and need to seek out the proper authorities in person.

Somewhere around the middle of the week, our generator was destroyed. I heard sounds from behind the cabin and went to investigate, only to find a Beedrill stabbing and poking at it. I shooed it away, but not before it had already done some damage. It wasn't severe though, and the hubs and checkpoints around the forest had the supplies to fix them. But it was already night, and they would have already closed shop. It wasn't so cold that it was necessary.

We spent the remainder of that night under a blanket on the couch, streaming movies to my Pokegear. I had a spare external battery we could use to keep watching even if the device was starting to die. I kept wanting to watch something else, but Stray looked like he was about to pass out. I just didn't want to go to bed with nothing but dead silence all around me.

By the time the last movie ended, Stray was already half asleep. We decided to just crash on the couch. It would make for a nice change. I threw the blanket on him while I went to take care of my teeth in the dim light of my Pokegear.

It was a chilly night, but not terribly so. To be honest, I was looking forward to wrapping up in a nice blanket on the couch and just drifting off into a cool slumber. It always seemed easier to sleep and dream on those sorts of nights.

I had a thought then.

Stray and I, curled up close to each other underneath the blankets, sound asleep. It made me think he had never really slept close to me before. Well, sometimes as a Rowlet he did, but his feathers were always too warm so I scooted him down the bed. But now, thinking about it, I don't know.

My mind flew backwards again. Cluttered in a miss of maybes and maybe-nots. I stood in the bathroom thinking for what felt like forever. Then I suddenly felt bad for telling him to keep a little distance when around other people. I shouldn't have felt bad because it was affecting our professional life, but I still felt like maybe I should talk to him about it. He could handle it, maybe.

I remember saying, "I'm overthinking this," a few times, only to keep thinking about it.

Still, it was a pleasant thought. Both curled against each other. Even taking all the crap the rangers were talking about us out of the equation, it was kind of nice.

Silence filled up the space around me, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my own skin. The things I was trying to avoid were creeping up on me, and I could feel that disgust in my stomach surge again.

It was a pleasant idea, but I shouldn't have been thinking about it if it made me feel gross.

I had spent entirely too long in the bathroom at that point, blaming it on nonstop movie binging for the past three features. Bedtime sounded lovely. I finished my nightly rituals and turned to head out.

The distinct caw of a Pokemon echoed through the hallway as some sort of bird darted past my vision. It sent me backward into the bathroom with me clawing at the sink for balance. Immediately, my mind scrambled to make sense of it, placing it under the category of seeing and hearing things while under stress. But that same caw came again, this time from downstairs.

I wasn't cautious like I had been before – I threw myself down there.

"STRAY!" I screamed, making an attempt to wake him as I clambered down the stairs. I had the intention of grabbing him and driving the hell away. To hell with my imagination, I wasn't going to chance repeating the night of seeing that bird on my chest.

I froze dead, blood turning to ice. Stray was gone: The covers I had wrapped him in, thrown about. I needed to find him. I turned on my heel to begin my search, only for a Pidgey with a missing leg to fly right at me, cawing out into the dimly lit cabin.

I fell backward to the floor, all the while watching the bird flail as I did, making an attempt to fly. The world went fuzzy for a moment as my body made contact with the floor. I didn't even bother to recognize the pain and shot up to see if I could find the bird. It was nowhere to be seen.

"Stray…?" I whimpered fearfully. I wanted to get him and get out.

I tried to shake my fear from my mind, in hopes I could give myself courage to move. It only got louder though, and in many voices. But they weren't in my head. They were all around me. Soft whispers everywhere: cries, screeches, cawing, and roars, all in the most quiet though overbearing of tones.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to leave. I wanted to leave.

"Stray, where are you?"

I stumbled through the rooms, looking for my friend, but he was nowhere to be found. Upstairs, downstairs, all the closets; I was cautious to open every room I went into out of fear of some sort of "thing" I might find. I was overreacting, but could you blame me?

The only other place he could be was outside. I ventured a peek outside the front door into the darkness of the forest. I was about to call his name when something caught my eye. I stared at it… stared at them. All of them.

I slammed the front door and dashed to the sliding door, flinging it open, uncaring if it cracked the glass. They were there too.

Off in the distance, where hundreds of pairs of tiny lights; many glow of eyes stared down at me. Different eyes, on different sides of the forest. The large looming eyes of Beedrill, and the violent watch of the Scyther. There were so many of them, each on their own side of the forest.

I had immediately thought I was in the middle of a gang war of some sort, but none of them were looking at one another. They were looking at the cabin. Some of them flinched to specific spots only to return to the cabin itself. I couldn't tell if any of them were watching me, and I didn't want to find out.

It was time to go.

"Stray!" I yelled out to the darkness. "We have to leave! If you can hear me, get to the car. I'll wait a minute or two for you to get back, but I'm heading to the closest checkpoint. So hurry up!"

I jumped back inside, examining the surroundings of the living room to make sure nothing was out of place, and shut the sliding door.

It was my mistake to turn my back as I closed it. When I looped back around, I wasn't alone anymore. The Pidgey with the one leg was there, and it also wasn't alone. The room was covered with Spearows. All of them pirched somewhere as if they had always been there, every single one of their eyes directed at me.

They had murderous intent, moving oddly as if they were missing beat or something – like a twitch. One moved it's head to get a better look, causing the sound of cracked bone inside its neck to scrape along. Another tried to caw, spitting up something black and putrid in the process. And then one slowly opened its beak for only silence to escape it.

No, I only remember it as silence. But it was in my head. It started off as low rumble, and grew higher and higher, deafening me. The sounds of something screaming. I don't know. I still don't know. I don't ever want to know.

As if that silent scream was a signal, they all flew at me – lunging at me, but never quite touching me. I fell to the ground, covering my head and curling up on my side. They were everywhere, I couldn't escape.

Right above me at the sliding door, a Beedrill had broken its glare and stabbed its lance through the window, creating a perfectly sized hole in the glass. Not even the reinforced glass that had been installed so many years ago could hold up against it.

Another Beedrill appeared, and did the same, stabbing a whole into the door, before pulling back and putting another one through.

"Go away," I muttered in terror. "Go away, go away, go away!"

I felt pretty sure I was going to die. I was either going to be pecked to death by this random flock of Spearow, or gutted like a sea type by a Beedrill. I closed my eyes and just waited for the end to get to me.

A wind pushed against me, and then there was silence. I thought maybe that was it and I had died, but I pulled myself away from my cowardice and looked around. The Spearow were gone, and so were the Beedrill. I could see two shadows of something a little bit away from the door but couldn't make out what they were. All I saw beyond that were the glowing eyes, shaking violently as the sound of a buzzing swarm began to grow. I then turned back to the living room.

"Stray!"

There he was, as if he had never left to begin with. I stumbled over to him and gave him as big a hug as I could.

"W-we gotta l-leave," I stuttered. "We have t-to get out of h-here. W-we, we… weee…"

Something came over me – a feeling, I suppose. Like… it's still hard to explain, to be honest. It felt like back when the night of that Pidgey and Stray's screech and everything happened. Like I couldn't leave. But I knew I could. My legs were working just fine, and I wanted to get in the car and get the hell out of there. But something told me not to. Something was holding me back.

I looked down at my arms and felt a fear erupt inside me. I whimpered as my body began to shake and shiver all over, feeling as though I had completely lost control.

Chains. Chains wrapped around my arms. Looped around from my wrists up to my shoulders. I looked and I followed where there were going.

Down.

They were going down.

Down into the grip of my friend, Stray.

And they weren't just mine that he held. He held many.

In that moment, I could see all the Spearow again, wrapped up in the same chains, bundled down on the floor, completely motionless and lifeless.

I turned back, following two more chains that led outside, through the holes in door. I could finally see the shadows in the light glow that these strange chains gave off.

Two dead Beedrill, with arrow like quills through their eyes.

I didn't get much time to gawk before a large wingspan spread out in front of me, enveloping me into a darkness of feathers. I wanted to scream. I looked up at Stray, utterly terrified. Not because of dead Beedrill, or murderous flocks of Spearow, or glowing eyes, or even the chains.

I was terrified of my friend.

The one-legged Pidgey from before perched itself on the Decidueye, looking down at me.

"Go away," I said, maybe crying as I did. I can't remember.

" _Sleep_ ," it whispered.

I could feel a wave of exhausting wash over me, but I refused. I did everything in my power to resist it. And when I did, Stray only gripped his embrace tighter.

"Go away, please," I begged the both of them.

Unflinching, the Pidgey lunged at me, changing into a ball of darkness before cawing at me one more time.

I blacked out.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	5. Repel

**Chapter Five** **  
Repel**

* * *

My eyes shot open. My mind wasted no time in trying to attune itself to the surroundings. I was in bed, body covered up, still dressed from the night before, with my head on the pillows; nothing out of the ordinary, from what I could tell. The sound of the rain coming down outside almost felt like a relief. I let out a sigh, feeling as if the worst was over. It didn't last long.

I picked myself up, surprised by how sore my body felt. I hadn't done much activity outside of running around looking for Stray.

Stray.

The chains.

I looked down at my arms, expecting to find them still tightly wound around me. Luckily, all I was greeted with was my own skin.

The rain picked up.

I remembered the sliding door, and rushed downstairs. Sure enough, the holes from Beedrill were still there, causing a few splashes of rain water to trickle inside. I grabbed some towels and packing tape and mended the holes the best I could. My parents were just going to be thrilled to see that mess, I thought.

It had really started coming down out there. With such a deep cloud cover it was difficult to tell that it was morning.

My eyes then glanced down at the two bodies of the Beedrill from the previous night. They weren't alone anymore, with another Beedrill and two Scyther accompanying them. There was a fight there. And though it was difficult to tell, I could see all of them killed by the same method – quill-like arrows to the heart or head.

I needed to contact my parents. I tried texted them, but kept getting "failure to send" messages. Same thing applied with an email. The clouds were screwing with my reception. This meant I had to brave the rain to get to one of the stations in the forest. I had the intent on going anyway to get the proper cables to fix the generator.

After a light breakfast and a change of clothes, I got my shoes and umbrella ready, and headed out the front door. I shouldn't have been surprised to see my "friend" in front of the house, staring into the forest.

I hesitated for a moment before closing the door.

"The front door is still unlocked," I muttered as I passed him. "Make sure you lock it when you're finished out here." I didn't even make eye contact.

I don't know what had come over me. I think I was mad about something. My mind was just jumping to conclusions. I couldn't help but think of the events as I walked to the station in the rain.

Birds that appeared and swarmed in my home.

An army of Beedrill and Scyther, staring down the cabin for some reason or another.

Stray, tugging on chains with some sort of odd power.

And a one-legged Pidgey that could speak somewhat and change itself. What did it change itself into again? When it lunged it became a sort of ball of dark…

"…gas?"

A Gastly. I thought about it for a moment.

Gastly was a ghost Pokemon, and it had taken up the form of the bird that died – Wing. But the more I thought about it, the more that seemed entirely too easy to assume. It was a ghost Pokemon, that meant it was a ghost. So, was it possible that it was just Wing's spirit?

Sky was better at explaining things like that. I pulled out my Pokegear and gave her text. Luckily, that one went through. I tried my parents again. Still no go.

I made it to the station eventually, explaining to the head there about the Beedrill and Scyther, and leaving out the part about the birds that randomly appeared. He asked if I needed a nurse, but I thought I was feeling well, just sore. He got the supplies I needed to fix the generator, but said he wanted to follow me back anyways, just to help with things since I was alone. I appreciated it.

"Hey," I started as he was locking up the station to come with me, "no birds actually reside in this forest, right?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, only those Rowlet your folks took care of some years back. It's always just been bug type Pokemon for as long as I've been here."

"I see…"

He looked at me funny before asking me to, "Lead the way."

The rain was still coming down, but not so much that we needed to hurry.

"Why the sudden interest in birds?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going. "You and your family have a thing for studying them?"

"I thought I saw a bunch of Spearow the other night," I replied.

He shrugged at me saying: "I wouldn't be surprised. I don't think place is as special as the FRU think it is. Ah, then again I'm not the superstitious type."

"Superstitious type?"

"Yeah, I don't know the details really. I ignore that kind of stuff and focus on my job, you know? You want to know about that kind of stuff, you need to go ask one of the historians back in town. They know all the details about this place."

I would do that. I had lived most of my life in that place, and the entire time I always felt funny about it. Maybe there was something I was missing – something maybe we hadn't been told.

The station rep helped get the generator back up and running in a few minutes, and he helped get our network system working after an hour or so of tinkering. I thanked him, tipped him some money for the assistance and offered my umbrella to him since he didn't leave with one. He thanked me for the offer but politely declined. He was the kind of guy who enjoyed walking in the rain.

I was greeted with Stray inside, looking out the sliding door, soaking wet. I groaned, knowing I had to dry the parts of carpet he walked through before they could set in and discolored. At least he didn't track mud in.

"What am I supposed to do with you?" I asked angrily as I did my best to try off the carpet.

He looked back at me slightly, only giving me an eye's attention.

"Why am I even asking that?" I continued. "Why the hell am I even asking that? I should be asking 'what is going on', or 'why is everything trying to attack me', or 'what you even are at this point'? Huh? Can you tell me that, Stray?"

I shook my head, pushing the dry rag into the carpet and putting as much pressure and force into it.

"Can you tell me why you needed to wrap me up in some weird chains, or why suddenly you can fight when you never could before. Can you tell me that?"

I was scraping so hard that carpet fabric was coming up off the floor.

"Are we even friends!? What do you want from me? Can you tell me that?"

The carpet tore a bit, snapping something in me with it.

"Can you tell me that!?" I screamed, throwing the rag at him.

I was a mess. I wanted answers, but knew I wouldn't get them. He may have been able to understand me, and we could communicate using yes, no, and gestures, but this? I wanted him to learn human language in seconds so he could actually tell me something, so I could understand. He wasn't what he looked like. There was something more to him and I wanted to know what.

"ANSWER ME!"

I was just fuming to get it out of my system at that point. I felt like I had a right to be angry at him. I just wanted to scream, and kick, and shout, and even slap him around a little bit. I had that right with how angry and scared and alone I felt.

Something caught my eye at the top of the stairwell. It was faint, but still visible.

Wing.

Perched on the top step. It fluttered over the banister and down in front of me, not able to keep in a straight line and crashing to my feet. At least I wasn't as scared of it anymore.

But the moment it got back to its feet, it's form shifted for a brief second. I could see the gaseous ball it had become the previous night, before turning back to its Pidgey form.

Stray approached me, kneeling down to get on eye level with me. Looking at his face, he looked miserable. I could see it all over him. Maybe he had been crying? I couldn't tell.

"…just tell me," I whispered to him, trailing off like I was going to say something else.

He just looked at me with sad eyes before pulling the drawstring on his hood, hiding himself away from me in shame. Not only was I angry then, I felt this tinge of guilt riding up on me. I wasn't very good at asserting myself, I thought.

"Sleep," Wing whispered. Of course it would.

I expected myself to fall back into slumber, but instead, watched Stray slump to his side, completely knocked out on the carpet. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I was quick to find out when I felt that way of exhaustion wash over me. I too hit the carpet with a thud.

Again, I was in a strange dream, surrounded by a void of some sort. We were still in the living room, but there were no walls or ceiling – just the blackness beyond their borders.

Stray sat in front of me, looking as miserable as he did in reality.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you," he muttered in some dreamlike language that sounded like gibberish. And yet, I could understand him fully. "I just didn't want you to get involved."

It was hard to tell, but there was honesty in his voice. For some reason, it frightened me.

"Get involved in what?" I asked, surprised at myself by how calm I was in my fear. I mean, I was in a dream talking with Stray. There was a piece of me that knew it was him, but something didn't seem right still.

He opened his beak to speak again but a wave of black electricity washed over him, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Stray?"

"I'm not used to this, Wing," he said in a pained tone. "I can't do this."

Suddenly, the world around me began to distort, and the real world had begun to bleed into my vision.

"Just trust me, please," Stray begged as his dream began to fade away, "I won't let it happen again." His voice was so sad. All the anger in me melted away as I heard it.

Soon, I was on the floor again, confused by my time away from reality. Stray had already moved away from the floor, limping his way upstairs. Wing watched him do his best to try make it up there, but it seemed too much for Stray. The Decidueye collapsed at the top, leaving me to rush up and carry him to my bed to recoup.

The sun had begun to break through the clouds. As it did, Wing disappeared from sight.

As soon as I had moved my partner to the bed, my Pokegear began to ring downstairs.

"Sounds like Dream Eater to me," my sister said over the phone. Asking about ghost Pokemon and their breeding habits was apparently a red flag to her.

I explained what had happened the night before, and then about Wing, and about the chains, and everything else. I was hoping that there'd be some sort of information I could use, even if it was only circumstantial.

"Dream Eater weakens a sleeping Pokemon," she explained. "If what you're saying is true – and I believe you by the way – it sounds like this Gastly used Dream Eater to infiltrate Stray's dreams, and somehow pull you into it as well."

"You think?"

"No, I don't," she said bluntly. "In theory it could work, and I've read studies on it, but it always involved at least two ghost type Pokemon. Anything else would be too great of a strain on the Pokemon using the move."

I thought about it for a second. Wing was just the Gastly spirit of a dead Pidgey, changed into a physical form. At least that's what Sky theorized.

"Ghost Pokemon are difficult to study in the breeding field. It's nearly impossible to study the breeding habits of something that technically doesn't have a physical form. It can create one and even manifest itself to act as a connection between the living and the dead, but the breeding science behind it is gray at best. One of my studies here was examining the egg of a Ghost type. X-rays inside the shell showed that it was hollow, but low and behold, it hatched into a Duskull."

In other words, she had no idea. At least I didn't feel as dumb about Wing then. But then there was the subject of Stray, and all the birds, and the Beedrill and the Scyther, and pretty much just about everything that was making my life a living hell at the time.

"Bug type Pokemon can sense things that we can't. There's a reason so many ghost type researchers keep them around. They know things. They can't fight worth a damn most of the time, but they know things, and they can see things. We can only see what's presented to us. Bug types can sense what we think might not be there."

I felt cold all of a sudden. I glanced down at Stray. He had gone from being wet, to dry, to sweating. I was worried he needed to be rushed to a Pokemon Center.

"Clay," Sky continued, "you may not like what you're about to hear. But I think those Spearow you told me about – I don't think they were really there."

I was afraid she was going to say that.

"Ghosts," I sighed into the receiver.

"Yeah. And the Beedrill and Scyther could see them, or at least sense them."

"And Stray?"

She paused, much longer than I was comfortable with.

"The vote for Alolan inclusion in the PLA is being cemented for next year. If it passes, we'll have more research information on all the Alolan exclusive Pokemon than we could ask for. But all the research I've seen on the Rowlet family - and a lot of that was from dad - is that there's something… meta-physical about them."

Meta-physical? I wasn't sure what she was talking about at first, but the more I thought on it, the more I understood what she might have been implying.

"All Decidueye tactics we've seen has, yes, involved grass type maneuvers, so we know that it is primarily a grass type. But let me ask you something, Clay: have you seen Stray fly?"

I said nothing. I had never seen him do that. Flutter a bit, or glide downward, yes, but not fly. But I had just assumed it was because he was the runt of his litter. I always assumed that he just couldn't because he wasn't born that way. I realized then that it wasn't that he didn't want to fly, it was because he couldn't.

And then I thought about the chains.

"No, no, no," I said, gripping the side of my head with my free hand, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. "There's no way. He's completely physical, he sitting in front of me, I'm able to touch him right now! He's not some cave dweller, or haunting vision that seen in some spooky mansion, he's got organs for Arceus sake, he's not…"

But he was. There wasn't anyone like him. There was no other Pokemon like his species, at least that I knew of.

"It doesn't make sense!" I yelled. "His previous two evolutions dad confirmed grass and flying types. How in the… it doesn't…"

"Some Pokemon's types change as strangely as that," my sister reasoned. "How does an Empolean gain steel as an attribute after evolution? Evolution likes to play tricks on us, Clay."

Decidueye.

A grass and ghost type Pokemon.

"If the vote passes we may be able to get some information we don't already know," Sky went on. "Dad only theorized that the Rowlet line of evolutions had some sort of spiritual connection with ghost types. It would stand to reason that the final evolution is in fact a secondary ghost type. But you'll need to talk to him about that."

What was happening? Why didn't it make sense to me. My sister explained it with a cool head, as if this wasn't a big deal. She worked in a field that was always told to expect these things. She was older than me too. Maybe that was worth something.

"Listen, Clay, I have to go. My next class is starting in a few minutes. Are you going to be alright?"

Of course I wasn't, but I didn't want to keep her any longer. I said my goodbyes and let her be on her way. I then tried my parents again. The text finally went through. I didn't have to wait long for a call from them: my mother in a panic, and my father trying to wrestle the phone away from her.

I did my best to explain the same things I had told Sky. I told them what Sky and I had discussed. I told them about ghosts, and chains, and bug types that just watched and watched the whole night.

"I suppose this is the sign we were looking for," my father told me. "Your mother and I had been discussing it the past few months, but I think this is just the push we were looking for."

I knew what they were about to say. It wasn't too difficult to know what was on their mind after hearing their son was almost pecked to death and skewered.

"We're going to put the cabin up for sale. It'll probably take some time for someone to bite, so hopefully the FRU can find someone faster. Then, we'll get ourselves a new place away from there. How does that sound?"

It sounded like they were running away, which was probably a good idea. They explained they had been thinking about it with the sudden increase in Beedrill and Scyther. Even if the attack hadn't happened they were sure they were going to move anyways. The forest was becoming too dangerous.

"The cabin may not be safe for us right now as it is," my mother said as she got the line back. "I'm going to pull some strings and see if I can get some high-powered repellant to use until we can get out of there. That sound good?"

I didn't know what sounded good, to be honest. I think I was just ready for all of this to end, and if that meant moving into Fiore proper or back to Sinnoh, so be it. Perhaps it was time for Stray and I to apartment shop again.

Even after all of that, I still couldn't stay mad at him. I was confused mostly – confused and exhausted. We only had one day of our staycation left too. I was suddenly missing work. What a week it had been.

I finished my pleasantries with my parents and was told they'd be back by late evening. I opted to stay up and wait for them. All the while, I spent the rest of the day biding time: cooking meals for myself, turn on and off the television, and constantly checking on Stray.

Night eventually fell, and when the sun disappeared, Wing came back.

"I guess we can only see you when the lights are off, huh?"

It nodded, perching itself at the foot of the bed by Stray's foot. It reminded me of Stray when in his previous evolutions. Then he became a Decidueye, and all that trouble started. I pondered if it was part of growing up for him; if he wanted to see the ghosts and spirits all around us. At least Wing seemed non-threatening, though I still wasn't one hundred percent sure on that one.

I looked down at my skin and sighed. Though they weren't there, I could still remember the chains around my arms. The feeling is still hard to explain. I reason that after the chains come off a person or Pokemon, the sensation simply fades away from the mind.

"Meta-physical, huh?"

I reasoned that once my staycation was officially over and I was back at work, that I'd go to my ranger station and ask for information over Bramble Forest.

"Superstitious, huh?"

I'd also try to look into some new places for Stray and I to stay. The more we stayed in that cabin, the more uneasy I felt. I didn't want something like the previous night to happen again.

"Does that sound good?"

No, it didn't. I don't know why it didn't. I think it was because I didn't want any of this to happen. I didn't want to be burdened with any of this. If someone gave me the option to live as a hermit in the ground for the next thousand years, I'd probably take that over what I had to go through.

That was a lie, of course.

All I wanted to do, was be a ranger, get some money, and just live with my friend. More importantly, I just wanted to curl up and not have to deal with anything stressful.

There wasn't much room on the bed. I did my best to squeeze next to Stray. I slumbered for an hour or so, and in my restlessness, woke for a brief moment to find him on the floor, against the side of the bed asleep.

My bed suddenly felt too big. So I pulled myself to the edge, and wrapped my arm down his shoulder.

I guess I wasn't as mad as I thought I was.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	6. Tea

**Chapter Six** **  
Tea**

* * *

My family has a habit of letting these things roll off their backs and moving on. If anything happened, we'd try to just get up the next morning, have our breakfast, and go from there. It could have been that my family was just overly analytical, which I guess helped, but it was something, at least.

When things had successfully settled down, my mother and father got in contact with the right people and brought them in to do some studies. Stray was checked on repeatedly, though they could find nothing. There was some excitement from my father researching Stray as a ghost type Pokemon now, though my mother was less than enthused.

Already I was hearing talks about whether or not Stray was safe to keep with us. I didn't pretend to know what it was that Stray could do, or how it affected me. All I could do was try to defend him and blame it on the forest. Deep down, I knew I shouldn't have.

But the forest – that was a curious subject. My parents had already known that there were some off dealings there, and I had only heard rumors from rangers and such. One of us had to ask it, and one day, I did.

"Is this forest haunted?"

They, nor the research team, had a concrete answer for that. A serious of "yes" and "no" chained together led to no real reassurance on my end. Obviously it was strange that no bird Pokemon inhabited the place, and even stranger how rowdy the Beedrill and Scyther had become. But beyond all of that, plus my moment of birdly fright, we came up empty.

"Do you have anything on the Bramble Forest?" I asked an attendant while visiting the Fall City library.

Puzzled, they searched through their catalogue, coming up with only scant information.

"I have a few studies and research papers," they explained, "but unless you're a researcher associated exclusively with Fiore, or a rank ten ranger, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to share them. I apologize."

I wasn't surprised.

I had asked around to all my superiors, as well as any local historians or elderly for information. Not a one had anything to share, let alone know. The ones that did weren't willing to give up such information.

"The forest is always under study," one Captain Rockley – a visiting rank ten from Almia – informed me. "There's something special about it, but researchers are just having trouble understanding it."

"Yes, but is it haunted?" I pressed, knowing my time with visiting rangers who weren't attached to rumors and petty hearsay was always short and precious.

She shrugged.

"Maybe. I mean, if a place like Lavender Town can exist in Kanto, who's to say Bramble Forest can't?"

It was an evasive answer. Lavender Town was known for being haunted as well as a co-habitat for ghost type Pokemon. Bramble Forest – I didn't know anything.

The only way I knew I was going to get any information about the past of my home was to climb the ranks to ten. By then, I was only rank five. If I kept going at the pace I had, it would take me at least another three or four years to get there.

I wasn't like the younger rangers and could travel freely by foot, and I wasn't one of the older ones with easier and more reliable sources of transportation. Not to mention, I wasn't sure, nor did I want to test, to see if Stray could learn the Fly HM. Just as well, I'd always found those machines to be barbaric.

In any case, I had to think of a plan. The idea was to negotiate with my roommates to let us stay for another day or two in the apartment. Unfortunately, when I arranged the time to meet them, instead of negotiating terms, we got evicted. Turns out the rangers we shared it with had caught on to the rumors about Stray and I, and didn't want to be associated with that.

We got what little things we had stashed at the apartment and went our merry way back to the forest. This meant we were commuting almost every day, save for our days off. We needed a new place, fast.

I had opted this time to leave Stray at home when I went apartment shopping. I suppose that worked out. He had started disappearing every so often. Just randomly out of the blue, he and I might be together, and then poof, off he went.

"I think his abilities are starting to come out at full force," my mother tried to explain, hoping to understand it herself. "Maybe he's sensing something, and instinctual urge is pulling him that way. A lot of Pokemon who are tuned to psychic or ghost types tend to be like that. I've seen it in a few fairy types too."

She claimed to have seen it before. All I could do was take her word for it.

It wasn't like it was a problem after a while, though. He'd always come back: sometimes looking just as he had when he left, and sometimes battered and beaten. He never came back looking as though he was desperate for medical attention. He just rested, and that was all that he needed.

I can't say I approved of his sudden disappearances, but I guess I had no say in the matter.

One day, I woke to find my father observing the ends of his wings.

"This is interesting," he said. "I can't tell if it's an opposable appendage or not, but it's possible."

I didn't know what he was on about. I just knew that I was going into town on my day off to check out the Ring Town Ranger Base bulletin board. So, I left the two of them to their own devices.

Much like every cork board on the planet, it had a list of little things here and there to entice rangers for something or another. Usually, it was off duty lessons for something, charity work, volunteer lectures, and of course, roommate inquires.

I searched the few pages there were, tearing off the loose paper tabs that were available. Most of them had come down to one or two left, but there was one buried beneath so many of them that had none of its tabs pulled off. I stopped and read the name.

 _Azul Ortega_.

I had thought at first nothing was pulled because nobody had discovered it, but enough of it was clearly visible for people to make out "roommate wanted". I shrugged and pulled one of the tabs off. Just as I did, I heard a distant "Figures…" muttered from behind me. I looped around to find two rangers trying to divert their attention away from me.

Azul Ortega lived in Fall City. Our work would take us there fairly often (at least once or twice a month), but it always took a while to get there by car. Still, it was nice to visit. It had so many lovely places to see and things to do. Sadly, it was also expensive, being the only city in a region surrounded by smaller towns and forests.

The address wasn't difficult to find. The building was surprisingly nice, and seemed safe. I had to ponder about how much the rent must have been, but that was in due time.

 _Knock, knock!_

My first impression of Azul was of a strikingly tanned man opening his front door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes in nothing but his briefs. I admit, my eyes went from his face, to his body, then back to his face.

"Can I help you?" he yawned.

"I'm here about the roommate position?"

He gave me a queer glance, as if maybe I was joking. But I was as serious as I could be, and he invited me inside.

"Heh, position," he giggled childishly. "Would you like some coffee? I have some tea too if you'd prefer. Stone likes it, but I can't stand the stuff."

Stone? Immediately I thought it might have been another roommate.

"Uh, no thank you. I'm already wired on caffeine."

"I'm not," he said with another yawn, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "This is my third cup and I still can't keep my eyes open."

"Hard job last night?" as asked.

His personality shined out as he gave me the most heinous of grins. I could tell he stifled a joke.

"So why do you want to the share the place?" he inquired between sips.

He was direct. I tended to be the same. I explained rather quickly why it was Stray and I wanted the apartment, the predicament we were in, and threw in some on the spot realizations.

"Being able to represent both Rain Town and Fall City would help double our available jobs."

"Wait until you get to a higher rank," Azul interrupted. "I can represent all four directional towns. One of the perks of the job."

I had only heard the highest ranked rangers had that ability. It was locked out for most of the younger and lower ranks.

"Are you a rank ten?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Not really. Stone and I have an agreement with the local FRU base. But really, you don't need to know the details, Mr…"

"Clay is fine, if you don't mind."

And right then, he had an ah-ha moment on his face. There was a pause, and then a sort of half smile, I think? It's hard to remember all the different expressions he had. They were kind of all over the place. After his menagerie of faces, he eventually took in a deep breath, and let it out earnestly.

"So it's you then, huh?" He paused and took another sip. "Go home, Clay," he then requested. "You shouldn't be here."

I was taken aback. There was no reason for him to deny me just like that. But then I remember what he had said. He could represent all four towns, which meant he had to have visited all four bases at some point or time. Which meant…

"Those stupid fucking rumors," I whispered angrily to myself. I hid my face into my hands for a second as I tried to let the frustration flush away. "They're not true, okay? I'm not… doing anything my Pokemon friend. You shouldn't have to-"

"Take it easy there, friend," he interrupted again. "I didn't mean anything nasty. This has nothing to do with you personally. What I meant was that you don't want to be associated with _me_."

My frustration gave way to confusion.

"I'm infamous," Azul continued, "in all four regions. I don't think hanging around with someone like me is going to do you any favors. In fact, I'm pretty sure it'll just make things a hell of a lot worse for you."

He paused for a moment, finishing up his coffee. I remained silent.

"You seem nice," he went on, "and that's the thing: I don't want to drag a nice guy like you down to where I'm at. It'll only make things more difficult for you and your friend. There's a reason no one wants to be my roommate. Try some of the other rangers looking for roommates. At least then that rumor won't be getting worse for you."

"I did that already," I quickly retorted.

I had. Before I had come to see Azul, I had gone to each of the different possible choices first. Every single one of them had heard about me by some method or another, and every single one of them turned me down. Some in the most polite manner they could, and others by simple pushing me out the door.

"I guess I'm infamous too. It just got dropped in my lap."

Azul sighed.

"Of course you are, but not for the same reasons as me," he groaned. "You and I got hit with the same Tauros shit. But the difference is, you're shit is all rumor. For me, that shit is actually half-true."

"Half-true?" I muttered. "Who… what?"

I remember he gave a whistling sound as he pointed a thumb right at himself.

For whatever reason, my mind took a moment to process that. I feel confident I could describe my entire life in a series of delayed reactions. The pieces eventually did fall into place, and when they did, I think I turned a pale shade. Was I supposed to laugh or run like hell? I suddenly felt like the people who had thrown me out of their places earlier.

"W-wait," I stutter. "What you mean is that…?"

And right out from behind Azul, a Machoke sits up from the couch, and playfully waves. I nearly tripped backwards. The happy expression on it's face turned concerning after watching me stumble.

"W-wha…?"

"Mr. Clay," Azul started, "meet Stone. Stone, meet Clay."

The Machoke tapped on Azul's shoulder, getting his attention, and then began to twist and turn his hands and fingers into a myriad of symbols. Azul then returned to me.

"He wants to know if you're alright."

"Uh, yeah," I say as I collect myself, only to realize that he just related a direct message from the Pokemon. "Wait, was that sign language?"

"Yep. He can also understand human speech, but as always with most Pokemon, can't speak it. This was a happy medium between the two of us."

The Machoke stood up from the couch, his attention squarely on me while heading to the kitchen and reaching for a mug from the cabinet.

"That's a Machoke," I say as if, once again, having trouble understanding what is plain and simple in front of me.

"That's a Machoke," Azul said sardonically. "That's a Machoke in a tank top. That's a Machoke putting a tea kettle on the stove. That's a Machoke making a glass of tea. That's a Machoke who knows sign language."

And then I had to address the Phanpy in the room.

"And you're sleeping with it."

"And I'm sleeping with it." He then placed his mug on the kitchen counter and pointed to it. "'nother cup if you don't mind." Stone smiles and pours Azul another cup of coffee. The human takes it and groans, "this shit really does nothing for me," before sipping on it.

I was very concerned at that moment. I understood why it was this person was trying to keep me away from him. My rumor was just that – a rumor. His rumor was true.

"No hold on," he stopped me as I tried to press further, "we're not in love. We're not a couple. We're not skipping into the sunset with flower crowns around our god damned heads. He's just my friend. Like you and your friend." He paused. "Well, maybe not completely like you and your friend."

I still wonder to this day why a brief image of Stray and I skipping into the sunset with flower crowns remains a rather disturbing image.

"And besides," Azul continued, "this guy isn't my bag. I mean look at him." He wraps an arm around the Machoke's shoulder and playfully shakes him. "Have you ever seen a Machoke like this? I'll bet if I got this guy tested, he'd show up as a fairy type. I mean," he then proceeded to pull on Stone's top, "who wears these things so loose anyways? I mean, do you wear these things loose, Clay?"

I blushed.

"Yes."

"And do you like cock?"

What the hell did that have anything to do with anything?

I blushed further, looking away.

"Y-yes," I squeak, feeling utterly embarrassed and unsure why I didn't feel more insulted.

"Oh," was all Azul could muster out before Stone reached back and slapped him on the back of the head. "Fine!" he screamed out, throwing his hands in the air. "No one can take a joke!"

"How is that funny?" I asked.

Stone gave a smug look, sipping on his own mug. That glance he gave me – he definitely liked me. He signed something to me I didn't understand, though.

"What does that mean?"

"He says he thinks you're cute," Azul explained as he came down from his own frustration.

"I, uh…" How does one react to being told they're cute by a Pokemon? "I think… you're… cute, too?" Before I could even think about what I just said, I immediately swept my mind clean and started over.

"Look, we need this place!" I snapped. "I don't care how, but we need it."

"And it ain't gonna happen," Azul said again. "I don't want your career as a ranger ruined because…"

"To hell with it!" I yelled. "I don't care about some dumb as hell rumor about me and my friend screwing, okay? I just want to get to rank ten, and get this stupid information about Bramble Forest so I can figure out why everyone is so uptight about it, and so I can figure out why it is that my friend keeps disappearing! Is that so much to ask!?"

It was, of course. I don't know why I went off like that. Things were building in me, I suppose, and I just needed an outlet of some sort to get out. It could have been worse, but it could have been handled much better, obviously.

My initial thought was that I had flubbed the whole thing and was about to be asked to politely leave. Instead, I watched Stone sign multiple things to Azul, who bantered back and forth with him about this and that. It was obvious that Azul was stuck in what he wanted to do, but Stone, he saw differently. Eventually, there was silence, and both sets of eyes fell on me.

"You're dumb as hell," Azul groaned, "but my partner here is worse. I'll have some papers ready for you tomorrow, but _ONLY_ as a temporary guest, is that understood?"

I think that time, my delayed reaction was an appropriate one.

"You and your friend can stay for three weeks," he explained. "Stone and I travel all over the region for work, four days out of the week, and then come back for some time off. You and your partner can stay here for those four days while we're gone. Does that work for you?"

I nodded as fast as I could. I think I didn't even know what I was really agreeing to, but it sounded great, and better than what I was hoping for. I had even completely forgotten about the fact that our roommates were going to be a Pokephile and his partner. No, wait… I remembered that part. I just chose to live in denial of the situation.

"We don't have any extra beds or anything," he explained, giving me a tour of the place. "It's a queen size, perfect for two people. If you feel grossed out about sleeping in the same bed he and I fool around in every now and then, we wash the sheets before we leave for work, and if you still feel bad, the couch is your next option."

"The kitchen is almost always filled with non-perishables since we're only here three days out of the week, but if you two want to cook, there's a 24-hour market across the street. Please use everything before you leave back to wherever in Bramble Forest you're coming from."

I agree to everything. He continued with the tour, showing off the small apartment and everything it came with. Everything was pre-furnished apparently, save for the television and the coffee maker. Other than that…

"Don't wreck the place. Do we have a deal?"

I nodded and shook hands with him.

I decided to stay at a hotel that night so I wouldn't have to drive the whole way back the following day. It all seemed very strange, to be honest. The whole day itself felt like some bizarre dream. But there I was, ending it with some good news. Though, it did come with a caveat…

Azul was right. The moment we signed those papers, even for a temporary lease for three weeks, was the moment the rumor about Stray and I suddenly held more ground. I laid in my hotel bed thinking about this for the longest time until I eventually fell asleep.

I had slowly become used to ending up in familiar rooms, surrounded by darkness. I was saddened to find myself in the hotel room, under my sheets, the walls gone with that same infinite void I had become so used to now.

"Hello, Wing," I groan, noticing the Pidgey, or whatever it was, perched on my nightstand. "What do you want?"

It cocked its head sideways, before turning to smoke and moving over to the dresser. There, it appeared as the gaseous Pokemon, Gastly.

"Stray wanted me to check on you," it said in a surprisingly clear tone.

"I've only been gone for a day and a half," I growled, already wanting this dream to end.

"Stray wanted me to check on you," it repeated.

"I get it, I get it. Tell him I'm alright, and I may have found a place for us to live."

"Stray wanted me to check on you."

It seemed as though that was all it could say. I had heard if you fall asleep in a dream, then you wake up from one. I had decided to put that theory to the test. These vivid dreams were too much for me to handle. One was more than enough, as it stood.

I buried myself into my pillow, and pulled the sheets over my head. I made a valid attempt, but found I was too awake in my own dream.

"Stray wanted me to check on you."

It just kept repeating, like a broken record. I didn't think it was possible to be that agitated in my sleep. Or maybe because it was a dream, everything just felt more pronounced.

"Stray wanted me to check on you."

"Okay!" I scream, throwing the sheets off of me. "Okay, I get it!"

My blood turned to ice as I was surrounded by winged shadows, all with their dimly glowing eyes all pointed on me.

"StRAy wAnTEd uS TO Check ON yoU!"

The chains were wrapped around my neck.

I couldn't breath.

I fell off the bed.

I returned to reality with a pain shooting from my arm to my shoulder. I had fallen onto my side. The daylight of the early morning was creaking in; The sun was just barely piercing the horizon. I knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep.

I got up and spent the day site seeing. I rarely got a chance to do it by myself, let alone off the clock. There were so many things to see and so many places to try, and eat. I was looking forward to living there halftime, if things worked out.

Sadly, throughout the day, I had developed a nervous habit of rubbing my neck, as if to check on something. The contents of my dream followed me through the day, and my wondering thoughts pondered what it could mean.

My first thought was to release myself of any threatening connotation. Stray was my friend – I thought – and he wouldn't hurt me. Those chains, though. I had seen them both in reality and in my dreams. The same with those birds too. I pondered what that meant. My answers wouldn't come then though. I had an apartment to secure, a rank to build, some documents to observe, and maybe then we'd be getting somewhere.

"Are those the same briefs you wore the other day?" I asked Azul as I was signing the temporary lease. He simply shrugged as he leaned against the kitchen counter. At least Stone had changed into a different tank top since the last time I saw him.

"I like to be comfortable on my days off," my new roommate explained. "You don't walk around in your undies on your days off?"

"I live with my family, so no."

"Shame. You should give it a try. You don't know what you're missing."

"Maybe you're right."

It was painfully obviously I had other things on my mind outside of getting those papers signed. The two of them obviously picked up on it, considering I kept seeing Stone signing things with Azul whispering to him in response.

"Thank you for considering us," I say as I give the papers back to him.

"Yeah, yeah," Azul repeated as he looked over my signatures. "I don't know if you're dumb or just brave, to be honest. Your social life is about to hit the dirt once word gets out."

"Not like I had one to begin with," I try to reason.

He chuckled as he put down the papers, seeing everything was alright.

"Rangers are a scummy group of humans, Clay. They bunch up into cliques and spend their time gossiping and bitching to one another about other people, because unlike trainers, they have to keep coming back to the same place over and over."

A cynical outlook on his fellow rangers.

"There are two types of rangers in the world, hell, maybe two types of people and Pokemon period," he continued to rant. "There are the ones who get ahead using their natural talents and experience, and then those who do everything in their power to get ahead by destroying the other. Guess which one of them wins most of the time?"

I didn't agree with that part. I still don't. I'm too much of an optimist to really believe something like that.

"I don't think…"

"Clay," he interrupted, "let me ask you this. Is a rank seven ranger allowed to represent all four major bases in Fiore?"

I shake my head. Only a rank ten is allowed, at the earliest.

"No matter what, Clay," he continued, "for every person or Pokemon who are close to you that want you to succeed, there are always ten that want to watch you fail."

He was silent. The bitter look of defeat that swept across his face spoke of experience. Stone approached him and patted him in the shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist and signing something. I suddenly felt like I was intruding.

"Sorry," Azul said, clearing his throat. "Didn't mean to get all sappy there. Things have been kind of tough for us too, lately. I won't bore you with the details." He then took in a deep breath and reclaimed his composure. "Right, so… Stone and I will be leaving tomorrow morning. You and your friend need to meet us here so we can pass off the key."

"You don't have a copy?"

It was a test. He hadn't made a copy purposefully to see if we can take care of the place as if it was our very own. He didn't need to explain that. I could tell. He gave some excuse about being lazy and forgetting to make a copy, but I think he was checking to see if we were trustworthy.

I took my leave and headed home. There wasn't much else for me there. I spent the ride back thinking about the past two days, as well as calculating gas money and how much we could save. It would cost a bit more to get there, but we'd be saving more in the long run by being in Fiore longer than before. Even better if we got a parking pass from the ranger base, kept the car at the Ringtown base, and used public transportation to get to Fall City or any of the other towns or areas.

It would work out.

I made it home after the long drive, unlocked the front door, and found the entire living room covered in paper. Stray rushed up to me with a delighted exuberance, my father in tow behind him with a beaming grin on his face. He was pointing to a piece of paper that Stray was holding out to me. I took it, and read the scratchy, but still readable contents.

"W elc oome h oME !"

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	7. Potion

**Chapter Seven** **  
Potion**

* * *

The Five Percent is a little known term that is tossed around the research community. Essentially, it means that of all currently known Pokemon out in the wild, there are currently five percent of all species that are sentient or understanding of human intellect. What that actually means is that certain Pokemon can not only understand human language and empathize with it, but also communicate on some level outside of simple yes or no responses.

Nearly all psychic types have a capacity in this, as well as some dragon and fairy types, though, those are far more rare in their abilities to communicate. Of course, you can't forget old urban legends and folklore involving legendaries.

It was a wildly debated theory in the community, and one that the PLA doesn't fully endorse or fund. It was also very controversial, as it suggested that Pokemon were of a lesser intellect than humans, and operated off of shear wild instinct alone. Something that those who follow spiritual and religious teachings vehemently deny. To them, Pokemon and humans were exactly the same – we were born the same, we live the same, and we die the same.

I myself am only somewhat spiritual, looking to faith when all else fails. That was just how I was raised.

My mother didn't believe in the Five Percent theory, which is where me and my sister's faith in Arceus stems from. My father, on the other hand, is a researcher through and through, and has debated and suggested the theory's legitimacy many times.

Seeing Stray write out a small, scribbly message had him bouncing off the walls.

"Look at it! Look at it!" My father elated, pointing repeatedly toward the writing. "He wrote! This bird thing wrote it! And you want to know what else!?"

I didn't even get a word in before he cut me off.

"He can understand it! I gave him a list of over two hundred words to work with, and told him to pick ones he would want to say to when you got home, and he picked these two and knew what they meant!"

The sound that came out of my father's mouth wasn't even human. It was some sort of a high pitched squeal that Growlithes could probably hear some few hundred miles away.

"He might be one of them!" he bellowed on. "Stray might be one of the Five Percent! This is huge! I need to call my people back in Sinnoh! I need to call my people in Alola! I need to call your mother!"

He darted out of the room without even saying goodbye, rushing to his office and slamming the door behind him. This left me with a happy looking Stray who kept showing me his message.

"So, you really wrote this?" I asked, finally taking it from my friend and examining it further. It looked authentic. "And you understand what it says completely?"

He nodded.

I wish I was more excited to see something like this, but I couldn't help but keep a more solemn expression. After meeting Azul and his Machoke, the idea of perfect, fluid communication between humans and Pokemon didn't seem so much of an oddity anymore. I understood it was possible, but didn't get it at the same time.

Still, I smiled and gave him a hug.

"I love it," I tell him as I tighten my grip.

He hugs me back, almost looking like he was going to start jumping up and down.

I let go and asked, "Was this just something you and my father were working on just for today, or is it something you want to keep learning?"

He grabbed me by the hand and led me over to the coffee table in front of the TV. There were lots of pieces of paper thrown all over the place, each with different words in some of the worst handwriting I had ever seen. They were legible though, and I knew the meaning of most of them. Words like "berry" or "puffin" or "potion" stood out to me mostly: the kinds of items you'd associate with a Pokemon.

"Stray" had the most uses though, being written on more pieces of paper than anything else. I wasn't surprised to find that it was the first thing my father tried to teach him.

I should have been more excited, but honestly, something just wouldn't let me be more than proud of Stray. I don't think it was Azul or Stone to be honest. I don't think it was anything. Perhaps I was just still trying to figure things out.

Maybe it was around then I started entering my more awkward young adult phase. Arceus knows I was waiting for it. I was what, almost twenty then? Or maybe I was twenty. I've lost track of time explaining this story. I can't even remember my age when these things happened. Jeez…

"I found us a place!" I jumped in, for whatever reason, trying to change the subject.

I explained the plan, talked about Azul and his Machoke, as well as some of the oddities that they were. I told him how we were going to be able to stay in the city for almost half a week every week, and that we could switch our primary stations and begin some more difficult work soon.

"But we're only staying at his place for a trial basis," I explained, "so that he knows he can trust us."

I was a little worried about that, to be honest. Who knows what kind of weird things we'd find in someone else's home. At least with our last place that we shared, we didn't stay long enough to even get to know them. This time though…

"He's cute!" I remember Stone signed upon meeting Stray for the first time. At least, that's what Azul said he signed. I had to take his word for it.

Azul shrugged, finishing getting his backpack together for their time away from the apartment.

"If you say so," he sighed. "You have weird taste in 'mon my friend."

"And what about you?" I ask, trying to make the mood lighter.

"What about me, what?" Azul asked. He didn't get the joke. "I don't got a taste in anyone. Stone here is the only Pokemon I have and will ever… er… do anything with. Rest of that shit's gross, man."

Confused and embarrassed, I looked over to Stone who just gave me a shrug. Yep, I didn't understand those two at all. I had sworn that Azul had a thing for… other Pokemon, but apparently, I was wrong. Then again, thinking about it, I suppose it was my fault for assuming.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Nah, man, you're good," he assured me. "Stone here is a special case, but we can talk about that another time, if I feel like it. Which will probably be never. Maybe."

He came off sounding a bit stuck-up, but I did say something out of line I guess. I was just trying to be playful. I thought he'd appreciate it. I'm really too awkward around anyone.

"The place is yours though," he continued, zipping up his bag. "We'll be back in a few days. Then we'll see if the place is still standin', and maaaaaaaaybe consider letting you guys stay here part-time. Sound good?"

Stray and I nodded.

"Good. Let's go Stone!"

He patted his friend on the bicep and proceeded to head out the door. Stone waved goodbye as well, giving Stray a wink on the way out as he did.

I closed the door behind them, and locked it tight.

"I think Stone likes you," I laughed.

Stray, barely showing a reaction, just sort of looked away and began to examine the apartment. I was about to step away as well, when I had a thought. I bang my fist against the front door, and wouldn't you know it, heard a startled gasp on the other side.

"We'll take good care of the place, Azul!" I yell through the door.

"We'll see!" he yelled back before finally stomping away, his Machoke's laughter filling the hallway as they departed.

The place was finally ours for the next few days.

After we got used to the place for an hour or two, we headed out into the city to pick up some food for us. Since we were kind of under observation, we opted for instant meals, dried noodles, puffins, and anything else that was cheap and easy to make with little to no clean up.

We were happy to see that Azul and Stone could afford cable on the TV, which meant that there was always something on to watch if we truly were that bored. Though, we didn't have too much time to relax at first. We slowly realized that the place was kind of messy still, and did our best to clean it up. I assumed it was a test to make sure we could keep the apartment clean, but later found out, they were just a haphazard duo.

Later in the day, we walked to the ranger station – the biggest in all of Fiore. This was the main headquarters for the FRU, and also the one with the most rangers attached to it. It even had ambassadors for the PLA. This was apparently one of the meeting points for my parents and their research team.

Registration thankfully didn't take too long. We were told the registration procedure usually took longer due to the wait, but barely any new rangers were there that day, so we got lucky. I took a new picture, got an updated ID card, and Stray even got himself an ID tag as well, signifying him as my partner.

Afterwards, we did some minor fetch missions around town just to get used to the neighborhoods and streets. We got lost a few times, but eventually found our way back. I had decided to go against downloading an in-depth GPS of the city, instead wanting to learn the layout first hand before getting any additional info.

Then, we went back to the apartment, had dinner, relaxed, and readied ourselves for bed. That was where some of those weird gut feelings I had, came in.

I stood at the doorway to the bedroom, looking down at the queen sized bed. It looked comfy enough, but there was something about it that irked me. Probably the fact that a human and Pokemon shared physical relations on it.

"I'm sure they washed the sheets," I told myself before lying down. The bed was soft and supportive. Azul and Stone had expensive taste in bedding.

Stray sat himself next to the bed like he usually did and prepared to sleep.

"Doesn't matter where you go, you can sleep anywhere, huh?" I ask him as I tried to get comfortable.

He looked back and shrugged. He paused for a minute, probably getting ready to try and drift off before remember something. He then headed out of the room for a second, coming back a minute later with a piece of paper.

 _GO oD Nig ht_

He was getting better, slowly but surely.

"Goodnight, Stray."

I put the paper on a night stand next to the bed, and turn off the lamp on ii.

Stray can fall asleep pretty fast I've found out. Sometimes it only takes him two or three minutes to get that blissful breathing going. You know, the kind you sort of forget your doing as you fall asleep. It's not quite loud, but not really soft either. You just… breath differently.

I always toss a little bit before I can start going that way. The first night was going to be tougher than usual though. I kept thinking of Azul and Stone's life in this apartment. I wasn't sure about either of them still. They seemed like a nice pair, barring the strangeness of their relationship aside – if you'd even call that a relationship.

They ate together, they lived together, they laughed and joked around with each other: they sounded like Stray and myself, except he and I didn't get down and dirty like they did. It was surprising how quickly I was able to come to terms with that fact. Hell, I was sleeping in the bed that they did it in.

Think of it, though. Sleeping in the same bed as someone who slept with their partner Pokemon. What an odd thought. Though, in me and my infinite amount of wandering thoughts while drifting to sleep, I couldn't help but think that Azul was kind of cute, actually. And of course, my mind had to remember him wearing nothing but his underwear, and then thinking what he might look like without them.

"Damn it," I groaned, as I got up.

I needed to take care of something, so into the bathroom I went.

This tended to be the usual ritual for me. Whenever I needed some alone time to take care of "that" I usually excused myself away from Stray and made quick work of it. It was difficult sometimes, especially considering having a partner Pokemon that didn't reside in a Pokeball or device of some sort. I found ways around it though when we were away from home though. And it wasn't like I hadn't gotten any after I got back from Almia.

Before all those rumors started going around, I got lucky twice even. One cute guy around my age, and another one nearly twice my age, who happened to be a commanding officer to some of the rangers. Then again, I hear he did that with some of the men who weren't directly under him, so… good for him, I guess?

Dry spells and past experiences aside, I was able to do what I needed to do when I needed to get it taken care of. At that moment, I let my mind wander playfully, let my hands do the work, and finished up – no fuss, no muss. I washed my hands, and headed back to bed.

I opened the door, and there was Stray, giving me an odd look.

"What? I'm done here," I say, pointing to the bathroom. "You can have it if you want."

Stray knew that I did those things, of course. I don't think it's something you could hide from a friend for such a long period of time. He hopped past me, and closed the door behind him, giving me a look as he did.

I never understood why he always gave me those off expressions and looks after I finish up pleasuring myself. It's never disapproving, curious, or relieved (I can get pretty antsy sometimes if it's been a few days) – Just a look. I don't know. I don't need to describe it.

It always gives me a shiver though. Sort of "ha-ha, funny" shiver though. Like, this is a Pokemon who either is judging me for doing what I do, or is trying to actively watch me masturbate. Either way, I didn't want to think about it, so I went back to bed.

I still had trouble sleeping though. It would take a few nights before I got the hang of the new bed, but until then, that first night was brutal. I tossed and turned for at least an hour or two before I was finally able to conk out. Even then though, I still woke up periodically through the night. The tail end gave me some nice dreamless rest, so I was thankful for that.

Beyond that, we settled in. After that first night of sleep, and getting used to everything else in such an unfamiliar place, we were able to get situated moderately quickly.

Azul and Stone came back a few days later, surprised to find the place in such a nice condition. Needless to say, he went ahead and extended us right on the spot, not caring about the remaining weeks trial. From that day forward, we were his tenants. Things could only look up from there.

Over the course of the next year, Stray and I worked on forwarding our careers as ranger and partner. Within the first two months we had already climbed to rank eight, working as many hours as we could before exhaustion hit us. We eventually were able to sign up for overnight missions, which meant sometimes triple or quadruple the pay, as well as extra kudos toward our ranks. This helped to secure my place in the future as a rank ten, so I could that information I originally wanted.

While all of this was happening, I did my best to coerce any information from around town as I could about Bramble Forest. The only thing that was agreed upon was that something happened in its past, a long time ago, though not much is known save for something involving the local tribe of the forest. Mind you, this was something two or three thousand years prior, so details were scarce at best, which only made me want to get that classified info sooner.

While I was doing that, my parents were having difficulty getting a buyer for the house. The area and cabin were technically owned by the PLA and FRU in different cases, and were signed under lease by my parents in exchange for their work. They still had another year or so before considering renewing or relinquishing. They didn't want to, but they had no choice but to stay and continue research on the Beedrill and Scyther.

They weren't alone though. My sister had finally finished graduating from university, and moved back home, albeit with a massive student debt. Luckily, she was able to get some odd jobs with her degree here and there in Fiore, but was working hard to cement something long term or career driven in the process.

She was supportive of my quest to gain information on the forest. My parents wanted nothing more than to wash their hands of the whole place. At the very least, everyone was curious about the mystery surrounding Bramble Forest.

"Maybe the place is just haunted, did you think about that?"

Azul puffed on his e-cigarette on the balcony, trying to make sense of what I had told him.

"Well," I started in reply, "we know that the Pidgey is a Gastly, though we don't have much else outside of that. I mean, it would certainly make sense considering that bird attack a while back, but my dad thinks that might have been an isolated instant."

No matter how many times I played it in my head, I still wasn't used to it.

"A lot of ghost type Pokemon are mischevious, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were just trying to scare Stray and I. Guess they didn't know about Stray's abilities."

He nodded.

A few weeks after Stray and I had become roommates to Azul and Stone, we came to the apartment to find out that one of their missions had been delayed by a day. So, in their downtime, we all got to hang out. Wasn't anything exciting – shooting the breeze, cooking, some light drinking, and watching movies. But we got to learn a little bit about one another, and ended up becoming good friends.

"He's Alolan right?" Azul asked as he took another drag.

"His species is, yeah. Though, a lot of that info is still up in the air. The vote for Alolan admission into the PLA is in two weeks, and if that passes…"

"…then we'll see a whole mess of information flood in about Alolan Pokemon," he finished.

Trainers, rangers, researchers, breeders – they were all on edge about the vote. Anytime a new region with new species was voted on by the PLA, it was always a monumental occasion. Needless to say, my entire family was anticipating it too.

"We'll find out soon enough," I said as I made sure everything I needed was in my pockets.

Azul and Stone had come back home for their time there, apparently, immediately after a four day excursion to Arceus-knows-where. I was still curious about how he was able to get so many jobs for being such a low rank.

"Stray and I are going to head back to the forest," I explain, getting ready to be off. "We'll see you two in a few days."

"Hey, hey, hold on!" he exclaimed as he turned off his e-cig and placed it on the dresser. "Stay the night this time."

"Aren't you and Stone exhausted?"

He nods.

"Yeah, but we don't want to stay cooped up doing nothing either. And besides, we've been wanting to hang out with you two lately anyways. It's not easy getting to have a good time out when you don't get along well with other people. Or the other people are just assholes."

He was obviously referring to the rangers.

As previously stated, our moving in with Azul and Stone made the rumors all the worse for us, but what we didn't see was the festering behind the scenes. Apparently, some superiors had actually put Stray and I on some blacklists with missions involving specific teams and rangers. They couldn't out and out ban us, but they definitely made signing up for a mission difficult.

Luckily, Azul knew the right people to get Stray and I some work, so we weren't upset. Even more so, the people he knew pulled some strings and got us higher ranking jobs too, so while they were more difficult, they also had better rewards upon completion.

Still, I suppose it taught me just how cruel and compassionate some human beings could be. And because of it, I made a friend in Azul.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Dinner and drinks," he said plainly.

"That sounds a bit like a date," I laugh.

"It kind of is."

That shut me up real quick, forcing me to a loss of words. Azul had enough for the both of us though.

"Don't get me wrong or anything," he tried to explain. "It's not that I'm head over heels for you or whatever. Well… you are cute, I'll give you that. But really, I kind of was going to ask if you – in a gentlemanly sort of way, mind you – if you wanted to, uh… fool around?"

Forward. Very forward. It was great to hear that the art of romance wasn't dead.

"Fool around?" I make sure.

He nodded.

"With you?"

A burst of laughter came from the other room. A looked out the doorway to see Stone in a fit by the kitchen. And then Stray appeared, leaning in from the door frame, to give me that look.

"I haven't even done anything, and you're giving me that look again?"

"What look?" Azul asked. "Is there a story I should know about? Is it fun? Is it sexy? Can I listen to it with deep and powerful admiration for your…"

"Shut up!" I yell. I then look out at Stray. "As for you, fix your face." I grab the door and slam it shut. "In the name of Arceus, I can't even get the chance to talk about these things without him giving me that look."

"Maybe he's just jealous," Azul egged on. "Maybe he wants to jump that dick before I do."

I groaned. I wouldn't have been surprised if that were the case.

"But c'mon, Clay," my roommate continued, "it'll be fun! You've been working like a Growlithe lately, and anytime we do see you, you and Stray look like you can barely stay on your feet."

He wasn't wrong. Stray and I were only a mission or two away from hitting a rank nine status, thanks in part to a few all-nighters, as well as one or two ambassador missions to Kanto. Even though we had partially moved into the apartment to get more time to rest and plan, we found ourselves spending more time working – or at least I did. Stray just followed along as usual.

If we hadn't been doing that, I would have probably said no and just offered to treat all of us to dinner or something. But I really was tired, antsy, and pent up. Azul's proposition sounded nice, which made me wonder what part of my body I was actually thinking with.

"Let's go out tonight to the boardwalk or something on the pier," I suggest, "get something to eat, walk around, and see what happens after that."

He was about to open his mouth when I stopped him with more.

"This isn't me saying yes, okay? This is me wanting to relax for the evening and maybe get the chance to sleep-in in the morning. It doesn't mean I'm going to sleep-in _WITH_ you."

A sly grin crawled along his face.

"Who said anything about sleeping?"

I rolled my eyes, groaning, "Azul" as I begin to rub the bridge of my nose. Boy, I sounded cranky. Maybe it would have been better just to cut to the part with me passing out on the bed.

"I get you," he assured me, "don't worry. We'll go and relax, and if you don't want anything to happen, it won't. I have backup plans anyways."

"Backup plans?" I ask. I didn't even need to think about it when I immediately realized… "Stone."

Azul nodded with a toothy grin.

"He's good for some things."

The door to the bedroom then creaked open, and Stone leaned into the room. I burst out laughing as he was giving Azul the exact same look that Stray gave me. In the other room, I could hear Stray hoot and holler as well.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	8. Super Potion

**Chapter Eight** **  
Super Potion**

* * *

Fall City's boardwalk has always been stunning. I think I say the same thing about all boardwalks though. They're always a site to behold, especially at night, when everything is lit up, colors and all. I never was too impressed by the sea though, but the things they put by them make it all worth it. Without something like a pier or boardwalk, or something, the sea would look just so boring.

"Slowbro Tail Hulatang!"

"Magikarp Rice Broth!"

"Boiled Doduo Soup Eggs!"

Street food.

I can't think of anything better to fill the stomach. It's cheap, delicious, and in plentiful supply. So many of the vendors live just a block or two from the pier, so fresh ingredients were always in plentiful supply.

"Could I have some of the hulatang, please?"

I get a nod from some kindly Johto woman who pours me a bowl of the soup, and then hands it to me just as quickly. The heat from it hit my hands quickly, so I rushed to an empty table as fast as I could. Luckily, there were plenty of open seats under the night sky.

"I don't know how you can eat that stuff," Azul said as he dropped in the seat across from me. "Shit's too spicy."

I looked down at his bland recipe of a simple salted broth with Magikarp bones.

"You're one to talk," I laugh. "How can you eat that stuff? There's no flavor."

He picked up one of the larger pieces of bone, still fuming with steam, the heat not affecting him at all. He then snapped the bone in half, and brought it up to mouth to suck on the marrow inside.

"This is comfort food for me," he explained. "I grew up on this cheap shit, so it makes me think of home. I just felt like having something like this. At least it's not something that can burn my tongue off."

Next to me, Stray nodded in agreement.

"Hey, it's not that bad, you two," I argued my side. "It numbs the tongue a little bit, but has a super savory taste. Try some." I offer him a spoon full.

"Screw that," he snorts. "I don't need to be on the can all tomorrow morning."

"It doesn't do that." I sigh and shake my head, looking over to Stone next. "Want to try?"

Stone was a more adventurous type of Pokemon, so he accepted the spoon and gave the soup a try. His eyes lit up as he reached across the table and sunk the spoon in for another taste.

"See?" I said to his partner. "I'll go get another spoon."

So, Stone and I shared my hulatang, while Stray and Azul shared on his bowl of Rice Broth.

"I hear rice is supposed to be bad for birds," Azul pondered out loud.

"I don't think it's the rice he's going after," I informed him.

A resounding crunch was heard around the table as Stray obliterated the remains of Magikarp bones with his beak, before wolfing them down. It was a joy to see the color drain from Azul's face as he watched.

After an easy going meal, we decided to walk the boardwalk and see all the lights, with everything lit up. We ducked into a few buildings here and there, wasting the night's time as we did.

The arcade was a lot of fun as Stray and I beat Azul and Stone in some fighting game. But the two of them got their revenge when they ended up whooping us in a round of mini golf behind the arcade. Who knew a Machoke could be so precise in his putting?

We stopped halfway down the walk to watch a string quartet play a little mini-performance, making money off the small tips they could get from the crowd. I tipped what I could, but was more surprised to see Azul drop four times more than I had. Put me to shame a bit, and made me feel a bit frugal. But the amount he dropped in was anything but.

"Stone and I don't do a lot of spending outside of work," he said when I inquired, thinking his large tip was a mistake at first. "We got most of what we need at home, and we're usually travelling around with the other rangers for most of the week, so it's not like we have a lot of time to enjoy our money."

I could see where he was coming from. Usually, when I got a chance to see the two of them relaxing together, it was usually over drinks and streaming something off the internet onto the TV. When we got the first electric bill after we had moved in, we insisted on paying for the bulk of it, since Stray and I used more than the two of them obviously. But they insisted to pay for half no matter what. The same was for all the bills, at that.

"Money is printed everyday," he said looking out onto the sea. "We got a lot saved up anyways, so what's the good of having some extra if you can't spread it around to other people, ya know?"

I'd later find out that Azul was a wiz with finances, and that he was quite the smart spender. After I found that out, he even offered to help me with my regional taxes. I didn't at first, but when the FRU wanted to bring me in for some minor questioning on a financial dispute, I was almost instantaneous to request help. Which he did, and I was actually owed money in the end.

By around midnight, I found myself wanting to kick up my sweet tooth and suggested an ice cream shop at the corner of the boardwalk. It made for a good way to wrap up the evening.

"The Rainy Day Boardwalk will be closing in one hour," a voice over an intercom ringed in all of the shops. "Thank you for coming out and joining us tonight. We hope you enjoyed your stay! Join us next week when our street concert will be…"

Nothing too fancy from what I remember. What I do remember was the delicious tang of lemon and taro ice cream that I split with Stray. Unlike the dinner though, Stray sat across from me, while Azul sat next to me.

"You sure you don't want anything?" he asked Stone from across the table. The Machoke nodded, content with nothing but a quick lick of Azul's vanilla cone when he first got it.

"Maybe he just doesn't have much of a sweet tooth," I said, trying to make light conversation.

"He's always been like that," Azul sighs as he enjoys his ice cream. He then gives me a sly look before asking, "Want a lick?" in the most painfully suggestive tone he could muster.

Usually I'd just roll my eyes, but I was feeling brave that night.

"Is that an invitation?"

He flinched for a moment before grinning ear-to-ear.

"Seriously, Clay," he began, scooting his chair closer to me, "I don't think you realize what that kind of talk does to me."

And there I went, rolling my eyes.

"It can't be that easy to rile you up," I say to him.

"No, but, when someone who plays serious all the time finally loosens up and starts acting a bit more adventurous, yeah… that does something to me."

I admit, I laughed a bit. He was like a kid who got overly excited about that one little thing they had been anticipating the whole year, or something.

And then I looked across the table, and was greeted with that look from Stray again.

"You have got to be kidding me, Stray," I grunted. "What is that? Seriously, Stray, what is with that look? You give it to me anytime I say or do anything even remotely lewd."

"Lewd, oh? That's the magic word!" Azul elated. "Do tell, do tell. What scandalous story do we have here?"

"No scandal," I sigh. "Every time I got any time to 'take care of things', he always gives me this weird sort of look. It's like he's trying to shame me or something."

"Your Pokemon's a pruuuuude," Azul sung as he danced a bit in his seat.

"He's not a prude. Wait, are you, Stray?"

He still gave me that look.

"Okay, that's it!" I had had enough. My attention shifted directly toward Stone. "I need you to act as our interpreter. Ask him what the deal with the look is and relay it to Azul here. I want to know what's up."

Stone shrugged and turned himself to face Stray. They began to talk here and there, back and forth, in their own little tongue that I couldn't understand. There was some slight moments of confusion between the two of them as well, and even some chuckles too. But eventually, Stone turned back to Azul and began to sign out the conversation.

"Really, that's it?" Azul said with a disappointed expression. "I thought it was going to be something interesting."

"What, what?" I repeat, hoping to hear something to get to the bottom of things.

He then turned to me, giving me some shit eating smirk and informed me that, "Stray thinks you're dirty."

"Dirty?"

I feel like if I read more books, or watched more intelligent television, or something smart, I'd probably be able to pick up on little details earlier.

"Dirty, how?" I ask, feeling like my friend was judging me on what I do in my own private life.

"Like dirty-dirty," Azul explained. "Not like gross or creepy dirty, but like, physically dirty. He thinks you don't wash yourself enough after doing those things."

That was it? I was left speechless. It had nothing to do with him judging me, or thinking I shouldn't do it, or being ashamed or whatever. He just thought I didn't clean myself up? What?

"I wash my hands when I'm done," I said to Stray in annoyance. "Is that not good enough?"

"Apparently not," Azul quipped. "Can't say I'm too surprised either."

Of course, our roommate had to add his opinion into the mix. And even if I tried to stifle him, he'd still say something regardless.

"Why is that?" I humor the man.

"If you think about it, it makes perfect sense," he began. "Well I guess it kind of does depending on your beliefs, but your family follows the teachings of the faith of Arceus, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, according to that, Pokemon and Humans are the same. We all came from the same creature – Arceus – so therefore, we are all brothers and sisters, or something like that. I was raised in Kalos, so you can imagine how strange my family's beliefs are."

He continued.

"Aaaaanyway, Stray thinks of you as something of the same thing. I mean, he knows you're human obviously, but he thinks you're the same as him. Right?"

Stray, surprising me, gave a nod.

"So, while he sees you as a human and something different, on some probably instinctual level or whatever, he sees you as another Decidueye… or a flying type, or something. And bird Pokemon are really cleanly animals, you know? Maybe it's not just your hands that's the problem. Maybe he thinks you need a full shower."

I felt like I was being lectured by my mother or sister. It also felt like every time someone explained these things to me, I felt more dumb than I ever could be. My closest friend since childhood, and I was _still_ learning new things about him. What the hell did I even know anymore?

"So, then that's it then?" I ponder to Stray. "You just want me to clean myself better? That's all it's ever been?"

He gives another nod.

I was left in a pause, absorbing the silence around me. Azul's grin was gone, replaced with something kind of, I don't know, empathetic? Stone seemed to be giving the same expression.

I sigh, feeling bad all of sudden.

"That would cause the water bill to go up then, huh?" I try to joke. I got a chuckle out of Azul at least.

"Yeah, that would be a bit of problem," he replied. "Especially considering how I can't keep my own hands off myself."

He was trying to put the attention onto himself. In some cases, that would cause me to roll my eyes again and move on with the conversation, but there, I was glad he had tried to keep me from feeling ignorant of things.

Stone tapped the table, getting everyone's attention. He signed something to Azul, who began to translate on the spot.

"Pokemon and humans are weird," he said. "I think a lot of humans see us as the same as them the more time we spend with each other. Azul never worked out or went to the fitness center until he met me. So, I guess we all sort of pick up on each other's strengths and weaknesses."

I kept forgetting how smart Stone was. I kept forgetting how smart a lot of Pokemon were.

"Don't feel odd about it though," Stone continued to sign. "I'm still finding out things about Azul, and we've been friends for six years. Sometimes it takes a long time to figure things out."

"Yeah," was all I knew how to reply with.

Maybe it was better to explain myself.

"I always thought you were ashamed that I did those sorts of things, Stray," I reasoned. "I mean, I guess I do that every other day or so, and I guess it's something that would be seen as odd from you. Then again, I guess it would seem odd from someone who hasn't done those sorts of things before, huh?"

Stray suddenly flinched. The atmosphere suddenly felt different.

"What was that?" Azul suddenly exclaimed, eyes not on Stray, but set on Stone.

"What was what?" I asked.

"That look. That look right then!" he rambled. "Stone gave a look. He gave one to Stray, but just barely."

I glanced at Stone. His face had become a slight shade of blush against his grayish flesh, or at least what I could assume was blushing. I then looked across at Stray, still completely unmoving.

"Stray?"

His eyes weren't even set on anything. He was staring completely out into nothingness. Right then, he brought up his wings, grabbed his leafy drawstrings, and closed the hood around his face.

Azul glanced back and forth between the two, until suddenly…

"Oh, my god! You did it with Stray!"

He said it so loud it echoed in the shop. Luckily, it was only us and the two teenage workers left behind to finish their shift that heard Azul's exclamation, and following burst of laughter.

"You fuckin' slept with the bird!"

A series of hoots and hollers erupted from the man as he clapped his hands a few times before banging on the table. He was getting a kick out of this.

I, however, gave Stray a dead stare. He looked at me through his hood: no doubt, I had given him the same glance he had always gave me when he thought I was "dirty." I was about to ask for an explanation, but knew he wasn't going to give me anything. So I turned to Stone instead.

"When did this happen?"

He was shy to answer at first, but seeing Azul (and even the eavesdropping coworkers) had all eyes on him, he had no choice but to spill the beans.

"A few months back," he signed as Azul translated. "And it's become kind of a regular thing. I mean, not regular like daily or weekly, but like, still regular? He's… really cute."

Azul burst into laughter again.

"Stone has a crush on your bird!" he giggled.

"I don't have a crush!" the Machoke signed. "He's just really cute, and one thing led to another. I don't have a crush on him."

"Is this true?" I asked Stray. He nodded. "Do you have a crush on him?" He shakes his head.

Again, I am left speechless, though not in silence as Azul's petty laughter kept the room nice and loud. Still, I didn't feel ignorant that time.

"Okay," I say as a matter of fact.

Azul's laughter ceased.

"Okay?" he repeated my words. "C'mon, this shit is funny."

"How?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't know, it just is. Stone here has really high standards. He thinks everything and everyone is cute, but his standards for fooling around are insanely high. Hell, I consider it an honor that he wanted to sleep with me."

One of the workers cleared his throat, as another one of them went wide eyed with a childish grin. Azul saw their dumb expressions and made sure to stamp them out.

"Yes, children," he playfully said to the two teenagers, "I have had a Machoke's dick up my ass before. Take the next minute to picture that in your head, then take the next day to get it out."

That seemed to work on one of them. The male worker gave a shiver in disgust and tried to distance himself from the conversation. The female simply laughed at her coworker, giving Azul a nod and gave us some privacy.

"Again, aaaaaanyways," Azul continued, "I think Stray makes the third or fourth thing in this Machoke's life that has actually turned him on. So, I guess be proud of that."

Stray continued to look distantly off from behind his hood.

Stone, however, didn't want to take the embarrassment lying down.

"Okay, so I have high standards for who I want to sleep with," he admitted, "but yours are pretty low. How many men have you slept with?"

"Enough," Azul was quick to reply. "More than everyone at this table, that's for damn sure."

"You have no self-control," Stone signed.

"You're right," he admitted about himself. "I don't."

There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of them.

"So what if I don't?" Azul defended. "So what if I indulge myself more than others? I take care of myself. I keep rubbers on me at all time, and I don't go sticking my dick where it'll get me in trouble. I don't rush to the first guy who shakes their ass at me, and newsflash, you are, and will be, the only 'mon I've ever done anything like that with."

He had to pause again, suddenly looking serious.

"And I don't regret that. You and I got caught up in each other, and that was that. I don't regret the things I did with other rangers my age, men who are older than me, and the one Pokemon who felt like they were born the wrong species."

The conversation had become personal. Stray and I looked at each other, knowing that it may have been a good idea to leave.

"Stay," Azul snapped, stopping us as we were about to stand. We did just that, being dragged into their world.

"You don't like being Machoke," he went on, "you don't like being the stereotype of the Pokemon community. Okay, I get that. I get how you were treated before me. But you need to stop trying to make me feel ashamed for doing what I do. I get lonely, man. And even if it's only for a few hours, it helps. You know I'm not good with people or Pokemon."

And he just clicked then. I finally understood Azul at that moment. What a strange realization.

"I'm that way too," I say, butting completely into the conversation. "Umm… sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine," Azul says, looking to me with the most genuine smile I had ever seen on his face. "I kind of figured." He paused for a moment, and looked at Stone, and shook his head. "I think everyone at this table has issues."

Nothing truer had been said that entire night.

I leaned back in my chair and tried to think about what brought me there. Somedays, I had forgotten what Stray and I were doing in Fall City, and why we were trying so hard to climb the ranks. I push out of my mind the strange and bizarre things that happen back home, and I try to shrug off the fact that I'm terribly antisocial and the closest friend I got, I can't barely communicate with on a personal level outside of yes and no questions.

And then on the moments I tried to get closer to him, all the weird things began to happen. There are ghost birds, and a Gastly, and chains all over me. And there's that almost malicious feeling surrounding me as everything happens. I say I wanted to get to rank ten to get more info about Bramble Forest, but really, I wanted to take the time to get there so I could spend as much time away from that god awful place as I could.

The months of peace away from there had been absolute paradise! We spent more time in the city than the forest, and I couldn't have it any other way. But Stray, no matter what, always gravitated back to Bramble Forest, and if we hadn't been back there in extended periods, he'd just disappear, only for me to get a phone call from my family that he had just randomly showed up back at the cabin.

What a mess.

"Let's get out of here," I finally suggest, a sudden tinge of confidence brewing inside me.

"Not a bad idea," Azul sighed, almost sounding defeated. "Where to?"

"Back to the apartment," I replied. "Did you forget about something?"

I don't know why I felt so brave and confident. I guess I was trying to lift everyone's spirits. I had clasped Azul's hand in mine, tightly. He looked at it and then to me. I gave a little smile and shrugged. He smiled back and shook his head in laughter.

He kept his promise of us not sleeping. I wasn't worried about that. I don't think I had much of a worry that night, to be honest. My body was too busy for my mind to even think.

It was nice. Hell, it was better than nice. I considered it healthy.

All of that pent up frustration, loneliness, confusion, and whatever the hell all of us felt – it was nice to let that vent in that way.

The bedroom door was closed. I had no idea what Stray and Stone were doing in the other room. I could hear rustling, and a little bit of a shuffle of bodies, so I assumed that were doing the same thing Azul and I were doing.

I had a lot of energy in me, surprisingly. I found myself on my back one second with my hands gripped onto Azul's head in my lap, and then suddenly found myself pinning him against the wall as he begged and pleaded for me to go harder or faster. I relished any kisses I could get as the night progressed. Simple caresses and explorations felt stunningly personal.

It was simple. Everyone will tell you sex is some sort of great act of the heavens that is a complex dance, or whatever the hell the media paints it as. Really, it's pretty simple. I guess it just depends on how much you're willing to put into it.

In between sessions, I found Azul curled up behind me, head resting on my back with his arm draped over my body. He was surprisingly quiet, compared to myself who was panting up a storm, trying to keep myself cool.

"Thanks," Azul eventually muttered.

"For what? For sleeping with you?"

"For getting me," he sighed. "I do sleep with a lot of guys, but it's mostly to help myself feel good about myself, and not feel like an isolated hermit. Outside of Stone, you're the only other guy who was willing to stick around and talk."

"Really?"

He paused.

"No, that's a lie. I'm usually the one who leaves without saying much. I don't wanna feel lonely, but, I think everyone just scares the living shit out of me too."

Interesting pillow talk. He never seemed like the type of person to blurt something like that out in the open. He seemed like a completely different person in bed.

"Yeah, that sounds kind of creepy saying it out loud," he chuckled. "But still… thanks. Hope you don't think I'm a freak or anything."

"Nah. I'm probably more of a freak than you," I informed him. "I'm seeing ghosts and chains every now and then, I'm trying to become a top ranger for what may be the wrong reasons, and I think my best friend has a thing for me."

Wait, where did that realization come from? When had I started to think that?

"Doesn't sound so bad," Azul replied. "I'm a former trainer who got blacklisted for beating up a gym leader, became a ranger without a partner, and when I did get one, he was a rescue from an illegal bordello. And not a damn other ranger wanted him except me."

I didn't feel as surprised as I thought I would have been.

"So, you befriended Stone and took him in to your home, eh?"

"Kind of," he said. "Another way to put it is that I was on a mission and pretended to be a patron at said illegal establishment, and for whatever reason, we gravitated toward each other. Didn't sleep with him at first or anything. We just kind of enjoyed the company. After a while, the place eventually did get raided. It was part of the plan. I botched it though. Won't get into the details. Everyone involved was taken away, except Stone. I explained the situation, and they let us go. That was in Oblivia."

The pieces had begun to link in my brain.

"That's why you're always a rank seven with special privileges."

"Because that was the deal when we came to Fiore," he groaned. "It was the easiest way to stop any nasty rumors or any scandals from happening. The records show that I was never a rank ten. I was always a misguided and troubled rank seven with extreme talent, who went undercover without orders to a bordello to rescue a Pokemon."

"Wait, if that's the case then…"

"…yep. Low ranks and gossips didn't start that rumor about Stone and I. My superiors did to keep me from advancing, so that I wouldn't be seen in the public eye and possibly cause a scandal. The moment you become a rank ten, you become a public figure in the rangers community. And the Rangers Union want nothing to do with anything even remotely close to controversial."

So the Rangers Union and the Pokemon League Association were essentially the same in how they operated. I'd like to say I was surprised.

"After that," he continued, "he and I moved in together as ranger and partner. That's when he and I learned sign, and we started to talk and learn more about each other, and one thing led to another. And that's how a rumor became true. Silly, huh?"

His grip on my body tightened.

"The world is fucked," he moaned.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It sure is."

After that little exchange, we both drifted in and out of sleep. The sun could be seen trying to poke its way over the horizon, but clouds stopped it from shining in. Rain began to pour, and a stormy sleep greeted us.

At some point, I heard the door open, shaking me only for a moment.

Stray and Stone entered. Stray looking ruffled and dirty, and Stone looking dull and tired. The Machoke dropped himself onto the bed next his friend, and virtually passed out. Stray put himself where he usually did, sitting down next to the bed.

With my free hand, I reached out and pulled back his hood for a brief second so I could scratch his head. He cooed happily, and the pulled the hood back over himself.

The both of us began to head back into a peaceful sleep.

In the last moments before my eyes shut for a long rest, the room seemed different. The walls, the night stands, the bed, the furniture, Azul, Stone, and myself – we all had chains wrapped around us. I didn't feel scared of them though. In fact, I felt relieved.

I had begun to understand what he was doing.

* * *

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_


	9. Persim Berry

**Chapter Nine** **  
Persim Berry**

* * *

Were they too tight? Maybe if I had moved my wings in a different direction they wouldn't have been so uncomfortable on him. I suppose I did something right, because the more he saw them, the less afraid he became. I didn't think Clay would be afraid of my spirit shackles. I assumed he saw them as just another part of me. I messed that one up.

I kept forgetting he's not me.

Stone told me sometimes it's harder on us than on humans to understand our abilities and what we can do. I guess I could understand that. It's weird how I never thought I was good on my toes until I tried. I just became more perceptive, that's all.

I was given the name Stray. I didn't understand the concept of names. How could I? I was just known as who I was among my siblings for as long as I knew them. That was a very long time ago, thinking about it. But I still think about them a lot.

I was a runt: I didn't pick up or understand things as fast as everyone else. It put me in danger and got me in a lot of trouble. I think that's why those researchers had such a fondness to me. Outside of the patriarch of my family, I also seemed to get the most attention – something about an alpha and omega pack mentality or something like that. My big brother hated it.

I liked the humans. They showered us with attention and meant us no harm. They gave us funny little trinkets of color. Of course, now I know they were used to keep track of us so they could continue studying us, but I was younger and didn't know any better. My big brother didn't trust the trinkets, and he didn't trust the humans.

He attacked them because I was being curious. I guess you could say I wanted to research these people myself. That's why I got left behind. I was seen as the weak one and would have only slowed them down. I never felt bad about it. Maybe I did think I was slowing them down. But it worked out, because I became a part of a new family.

I got to meet so many amazing humans and Pokemon. Almost all of them were nice, though I guess after what my brother did they needed to warm up to me. But in the end, they liked me, and treated me like one of their own. Those were my favorite days! Not so much afterwards when everything felt so uncertain.

When I evolved into my final form, I was so happy. I felt like I was growing up, and that I'd finally be as tall as Clay. He's still taller, but not by much. But that was alright. I got to be around him more, and he and I even became partners!

I thought everything was going great with that, then he pulled me aside and told me not to be so close. Everyone must have thought we were mates. I didn't understand that, really. I was only doing what I felt was right. I cuddled up with my siblings and no one cared, why would anyone care if I did the same thing with my friend?

"Humans are a selfish bunch," Stone explained one day when it was just the two of us. "Most of the time, they only care about themselves or how others see them."

He generalized them, but only because they generalized us.

It must have been odd for Stone. He came from someplace when humans treated him as nothing more than an object for their own gain. I came from a family of humans who saw me as an equal on their ground. Azul is so sweet to him though, so sometimes I think Stone doesn't believe some of the cynical things he says, and he really does act as happy as he is when others are around. It's so strange seeing him so cynical about the world when it's just the two of us.

I don't think the world was made specifically against us. I think it was made to challenge everyone – some more than others as I saw with my own two eyes. I can say that I've been challenged as I've aged.

I thought becoming a Decidueye meant just getting old and more experienced. I didn't realize it came with such a burden. If I did, I would have stayed a Dartrix and let that be that.

They named it Wing.

It didn't have a living name. It was just another bird in a group of Pidgeys that lived in the forest. That much I knew about the Bramble Forest – it's not what everyone thinks it is.

That place used to be much livelier, at least in terms of Pokemon. I still don't know all the details, since Wing has trouble remembering it's own life.

Still, as much as I admired Wing, I hated it too. If I hadn't met it, I think none of what happened would have happened. I saw a bird Pokemon dead on our back porch. I watched them bury it. I cried over it. I cried over every Pokemon who died. I had trouble understanding the concept, even as an adult.

Not to come back? What does that mean? To a human it means that someone is gone forever, and all that's left is their memories. To a Pokemon, it just means becoming something else.

Wing's voice was booming and loud. It stirred me from my sleep, sapped me of my energy. I was both relieved and terrified to see it. I cornered it in the kitchen.

I saw something.

I saw all of them – swarming me in an instant. The Spearow flying and rushing over me, pecking and prodding at my body. They ripped out my feathers, tore at my flesh. They blinded me, forced me to the ground, and tore into any exposed part of myself. My legs went numb as I felt them surround them, before pecking down to the bone and breaking them in two, pulling the remainder of my leg with it. I could feel them feed on me. Feed on my soul.

And Wing watched.

I felt something warm touch my backside, and I snapped.

I let out a burst of energy around me, screaming into the night as I did. It sent a fantastic shiver up my spine, as I felt relief and comfort abounds. Suddenly, I could hear all the voices. They all whispered and murmured to each other, before coming to a complete silence.

They had become aware of me. And I had discovered what they were and who I was.

Sadly, it was a poor time to test my spirit shackles, as I found that the warm touch was my friend, trying to make sure I was alright. He took the full effect, and I had no choice but to protect him from myself.

Clay became so scared of me after that. I know he warmed back up to me after a while, but even then, I could sense his fear of me. I wanted to win his trust back, so I taught myself how to fight.

I learned the skills my big brother had used to protect his siblings, and worked to master them myself. I was surprised to see how quick I was to adapt to my own abilities and what I could do with them.

When the Spearow made an appearance and tried to do to Clay's psyche what they did to mine, I was ready. I was ready for those Beedrill and Scyther too. They had sensed me and my abilities, and saw me as a threat. I gave them a reason to be scared.

Killing them.

It felt good.

I went for the easy kills at first. There was no point in dragging out their deaths any longer than I had to. But after a while, when I sensed the cabin could be in danger again, I made sure to have them suffer a bit.

I ravaged their insides, tore off limbs, blinded them, did whatever I could to get the message across. I sent some of them back to their hives and burrows as a warning.

Stay away from my family.

It worked. All the while, I relished in each kill. It gave me the experience I needed to better myself, and I became the hunter my brother had been so long ago. I had to be ready against any enemy, no matter their strength or type. I was going to make sure that nothing got in the way of my family's happiness again.

Clay only saw glimpses of what I could do, mostly just the spirit shackles and the occasional quill, and that was usually to keep him safe. The first person who actually saw what I could muster was Stone.

One day, before Stone and I became casual (at least that was what Azul liked to joke about), Clay invited the two of them to the cabin for the night – just to see what our home was like. Azul and Stone were to be dispatched at the beach west of the Bramble Forest, so it acted a halfway point for them.

While Clay introduced Azul to his parents (whom they believed to be his mate, which is a funny story in itself), I showed Stone the surrounding forest. He could tell that there was something going on in it, sensing the dense air of animosity between the Beedrill and Scyther. He eventually caught on that they were watching us too, or to be more precise, watching me.

That's when I pulled out a quill and fired it into a nearby sentry's abdomen. It shocked Stone, but not because I could do it. No, I think it was because I allowed it to squirm and die slowly instead of finishing it off.

Fear was the only way to get a message into these creatures.

Stone disapproved, but I knew he was going to. He lectured me all night, and made the evening awkward. He never told Clay or Azul the truth. He told them that his attitude was because he was nervous in the woods, which wasn't far from the truth. I was a part of these woods by then. I was infamous to the wildlife, with the family I loved clueless to my endeavors. I aimed to keep it like that.

"I get you want to protect them, but that's just sick."

He didn't understand.

"You don't go around killing things without a reason."

They were threatening my family's way of life, what better reason was there?

"And did you ever think you're just making them mad? How many of those things do you think there are?"

Thousands. Thousands. Thousands.

I had seen their hives and burrows. They knew how to come together and form an attack. They were all of the same mind. It was because they were of the same mind that scared them. I could adapt to their mind.

Thousands. Thousands. Thousands.

Corpses at my feet, watching their soul drift away, too fearful to become something more.

I scared myself. I scared myself into being proud of it.

Leaving the safety of the city one day to return to the forest while my partner slept, I slayed a group becoming wise of Wing. Wing was weak, and I felt no ominous presence in it. My family considered it a part of the family, so I should too. So I slayed them to protect it.

Coming to and from the city seemed so easy by then. I couldn't fly, but I found ways of using my abilities to get back to the cabin faster than ever – faster than the technology the humans used.

On my way back to the city, I was surprised to find Clay had gone out of the apartment, and there was Stone in his place. They had come back early, and Clay and Azul went to go get a drink and see a movie.

Stone knew where I had been, and finding my feathers covered in a bloody mess, he offered to help clean me up.

"You're a handful," he sighed, helping to get some tougher stains out of my feathers. "I don't know how Clay can live with you."

"I don't know either."

I didn't. There were two sides me, and I wasn't sure which was supposed to be the Pokemon called Stray. There was a side that was the pacifist bird that acted as the partner to a ranger, and the side that murdered and maimed, giving the excuse that it was to protect other people.

What a funny realization that night gave me. It was also the night Stone gave his body to me. He thought it would be a way to let some of the pent up frustration I had out. It was embarrassing, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every moment afterward. He was just being kind.

I always thought that everyone was kind at first until proven otherwise. That was my fault for thinking that way. In reality, everyone seemed like they wanted Clay and I to fail. Stone and Azul ended up being the exceptions to rule. They didn't go around spreading rumors about Clay and I mating, and did their best to stamp the rumors in their tracks.

I never understood those rumors.

Would it have been such a bad thing for Clay and I to be mates? I wouldn't be opposed to it. It's true we're different species, but it didn't mean we could be something closer than what we had then. Just being around him made me believe that kindly side myself was the real me.

"It all comes down to sex," Stone explained. "Everything seems to always revolve around sex with humans. More than just mating for procreation."

I asked how that was different from what he and I did.

"That's different. You and I know the difference. You don't think I'm your mate, do you?"

I didn't. We physically mated as a means to help each gain relief. In that sense, I suppose we were close companions, but not mates. As I said before, I never thought it was a bad thing.

Mating with Clay seemed funny in my head. I could see how Stone and Azul could since Stone's body seemed close to matching a humans, but I didn't have the same good luck. So the whole thing seemed a bit strange to suggest that becoming Clay's mate involved nothing but mating. All I could see was just us spending our days together, perhaps just closer than we could be.

"I get where you're coming from," Stone said, "but I wouldn't hedge any of my bets on it."

That was okay. I didn't want to make Clay and I's relationship strained. We had already come close to falling out a few times before, and I didn't want to risk it again. I'll just be happy he's close when I need him the most. Though, I will admit I enjoy the times he scoots closer to the edge of the bed and puts his arm over my chest.

The week after Clay and Azul mated for the first time was a serious one. Not just for them, but apparently, a lot of the regions across the world. The vote for Alola's inclusion into the Pokemon League Association had finally come up. And when the day came for the vote to happen, everyone was glued to their TV sets.

Clay's mother and father were part of the select group that could vote, and immediately voted in favor of it. The TV that was on in the apartment seemed to show plenty of street testimonial for and against Alola. I didn't understand it, but assumed it was probably a human thing to argue over such trivial measures.

There was a sigh of relief when it all came down to it though. There was a sweeping vote in favor for Alola to join the PLA. I was genuinely surprised by how excited Clay and Azul were about the whole thing. I was told it was because they were able to get more information about my species so they could understand me better. Not just my mannerisms or how I acted though; all that could be translated through Stone. It was actually more about how my body works, as well as my types.

These were things I didn't understand. Stone did his best to explain it to me, and I got some of the gist of it, but most of it went over my head. What I did understand sounded like things I knew on an instinctual level already. To a trainer or a ranger though, I guess I could see why it was such a big deal.

"Do you remember being in Alola?" Clay asked me the next day.

I don't remember much. I remember little glimpses here and there in the trees, and my brothers and sisters, but nothing outside of that. I don't remember why we left the region and headed toward Fiore. I just followed my siblings because I thought that was the right thing to do at the time. I was newly born then, so I didn't know anything. Curiosity got the better of me in Fiore, and we all know the story there.

After the vote had passed, there was a sudden interest in Clay and I. The people who judged us to be mates suddenly appeared to ask as many questions as they could about me. All of a sudden, we had become popular. Neither Clay or I enjoyed it though. Even if they came to us asking questions about me or how long he and I had been ranger partners, there was always some sort of whispering happening behind the scenes.

"Word of advice," Azul told us one day, "I'd ignore any advance on the two of you. The last thing you two want is to be popular and have rumors circling above your head."

Clay and I probably should have listened, but we didn't. Instead, we answered questions, showed off my signature abilities, and did our best to be open and honest. We both thought that maybe it would put an end to all the nasty things said behind our backs.

It didn't.

It made things worse.

All of sudden, Clay was denied missions, even small ones. This wasn't something that happened over time, but all at once one day. We couldn't get a job for two days straight, being immediately thrown out anytime we tried to join a team.

We were floating above a rank nine, on the cusp of becoming rank ten partners. But then, Clay got a call one day informing him that there was an error in his profile, and he and I would have to be demoted down to rank eight. Clay spent the whole night trying to find this error, but couldn't find anything. That's when he got Azul involved.

"What the hell? Why is Rockley's name on here?"

Closer examination of Clay's ranger profile and mission history had a sign off from a Rockley person – someone I had never heard of before. Clay recognized it, but only vaguely, but Azul seemed to know the person quite personally.

"Rockley is from Almia," he explained. "She doesn't have jurisdiction on your profile. Your superior is Eleanor, right?"

Clay nodded.

"Something stinks," Azul continued. "Their doing something behind the scenes."

He went unusually quiet. This was rare for Azul. I tried to get Stone's opinion on the matter, but he too was focused on something.

The next day, both Stone and Azul had disappeared, leaving a note saying they'd be gone an extra long time. They had booked a flight to Almia, apparently to get to the bottom of our problems. Neither of us were sure why they didn't invite us to plead our case, but what was done was done.

We continued having trouble getting missions, so we took it as an opportunity to go back to the forest and check up on our family.

Clay's parents did their best to whittle what little time left they had on their research, and cabin. Nothing had changed much since the last time we visited. Clay's father asked where his boyfriend was, to which Clay continued to deny his relationship with Azul, and his mother wondered why he didn't visit as frequently.

He gave a side glance as he tried to come up with something to say. I didn't need to be made aware that I was the reason. It saddens me to know that he didn't visit his parents often because he was afraid I'd disappear into the forest for long periods of time. I wish I had the heart to tell him I did it regardless, whether he knew or not.

Sky had taken up permanent residence in the cabin, using the back building and the open layout to turn it into an area to study the mutations of Dittos. Apparently, she had become fascinated with the idea of Dittos mimicking legendary Pokemon. They obviously could become their shape, but never mimick their skills unless there was one nearby to use the copy ability on. She was trying to see if it was possible to copy legendary Pokemon's abilities without them needing to be present.

It all sounded so bizarre to me. I don't think I'll ever understand humans and their research. The only thing I understood was myself and what I could do.

I spent so many evenings in the cabin on guard duty, watching the deep forest for anything that might threaten my family. Scyther and Beedrill made easy prey, and rarely ever attacked the cabin anymore. Those strange shapes that invaded the cabin, on the other hand, were more than frequent.

They couldn't do much outside of attack their dreams. Wing only informed me of such, giving me opportunity to pick off the ghosts one by one. It helped to improve my abilities in stealth, and soon, I was a master of the silent kill.

Kill is a meaningless word when dealing with something that was already dead. I guess I only temporarily subdued them, and took them away from the cabin. I placed them far away from my home – strung them up with my chains and let them hang. They'd never try to bother any of my loved ones again.

I'd like to say that was true.

They came one after another, nearly every night we visited the cabin. I never slept on those days, and it showed on my face the following mornings. I suppose that was another reason we stayed away from the Bramble Forest too.

Two weeks passed, and we were greeted with a surprise of Azul and Stone hunting us down specifically in the Bramble Forest. What they had to say was a big deal.

"They're trying to push you out," Azul explained in the car as we all rode back to the city.

"What do you mean?" Clay asked, myself sharing in his confusion.

"They're trying to pull the same shit they did with Stone and I. Except this time, they don't want you in the shadows – they want you to resign from the rangers completely."

We were shocked. The words uttered out of Azul's mouth effected out livelihood and future. To say we were speechless was an understatement.

"How do you know this?" Clay asked. "Who said this?"

"Nobody."

"Then how do you know…?"

"Wait 'til we're back in the city," Azul explained, "you won't believe what we found."

We had no choice but to sit back and wait for our arrival into the city for more information. I felt a pit in my stomach, like something was wrong. I was usually pretty good with my feelings too.

And so, we began our decent into our eventual expulsion from the Fiore Ranger Union.

 _Until next chapter…  
Stay safe!_

* * *

 **STORY UPDATE:** Sorry it took so long for an update. I have to change the publishing periods to once every two weeks now to keep up with myself as well as the things happening in real life. I've been put on some new meds too, so they've been slowing me down a bit, but the chapters are almost all done. Sorry for the wait again! See you soon!


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